NEC Classic Motor Show: TIGOSE member DK Engineering’s Ferraris on Ferrari Owners’ Club stand

TIGOSE Member DK Engineering had two important Ferraris on display on the Ferrari Owners’ Club stand at the 2014 NEC Classic Motor Show:

A 250 SWB (fully restored by DK Engineering) and probably one of the best RHD short-nose 275 GTB graced the stand.

The Ferrari 250 GT SWB, steel-body Berlinetta was ordered by its first owner Horace Gray via Chinetti motors in September 1960. Mr Gray requested a competition engine but this was denied by the factory. However, the car featured, from new, some competition features such as an open air tray (no filters), a ribbed case gearbox and uprated camshafts. In fact, hinting to its competition routes, this is the car that was used for Ferrari’s pictures in the second set of official homologation papers at that time.

Produced in late 1960, the car was delivered to its owner in January 1960 and was, therefore, between the unofficial designation of series 1 and series 2 SWB Berlinettas. One of only approximately eleven cars built that incorporated both the features of an early SWB and a late SWB, it sported curved door glass top, quarter lights, an outside “Monza” fuel filler located in a dogleg of the boot lid, and the interior style of an early car with a rounded transmission tunnel, high parcel shelf (with spare wheel fixing point access flap) and a fully trimmed dash board.

Experts class this variation as THE one to have.

The car remained in the USA until 2007 when it was purchased by DK Engineering and sold to its current owner. The previous owner had loved and cherished the car for 35 years and had amassed the most comprehensive history file one could imagine including over 200 photographs of the car over the years.

In 2007 the car was partially re-trimmmed (retaining the original seats) and returned to its original exterior colour (it had bene re-painted red in the USA). Interestingly the original colour was designated by the factory as Grigio Conchiglia but in fact the actual colour has been determined to be the darker grey it is seen in today by comparison with period photographs. It is regularly used and enjoyed; in fact, it has never been totally restored but extremely well maintained over the years.
The Ferrari 275 GTB 3-carburettor, steel-body “short nose” Berlinetta, RHD, UK-supplied, in China Red (Rosso Cina 20456), with Black VM 8500 leather, black carpets and light grey headlining, came through Maranello Concessionaires, Bournemouth. Of the 40 RHD 2-cam 275 GTBs, it is one of the 19 in short nose configuration.

The first owner was Mr Eric Garott of London. He does not appear to have used it much after 1972. The 275 was then sold in May 1982 through RS Williams Ltd, an Aston Martin Lagonda dealer in London, to its second owner, a Mr Heinz Huve of Germany for £28,000.00, the speedometer reading at this time was approximately 7,700 miles. The 275 was sympathetically restored in 1993. The third and last (!) owner purchased the 275 in September 2013. This car is effectively a 3-owner car in its 49-year history, with just 47,000 miles from new.