Modena, 4 July, 2014
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the last production year of
the 250 series in 1964, namely the 250 GT Lusso, Brandon Wang
organised a tour for friends with models in the 250 production
range, which he named “Ferrari Le 250 Tornano A Casa”. If one
wanted to be pedantic, one could say that the 250 LM continued
in production after that, but only the first example was produced
with a 3 litre engine, with all subsequent models having a 3.3 litre
unit. The purpose of the event was to have a leisurely touring rally,
taking in sights, culture, excellent accommodation in luxury
hotels, together with fine food and wine to satisfy the inner needs,
driving the cars in the manner to which they were accustomed.
The final entry list ran to 24 cars, including no less than three 250
GT TdF berlinettas, a pair each of 250 GT “Interim” berlinettas,
250 GT SWB berlinettas and 250 Testa Rossas, a quartet each of
250 GT California Spiders and 250 GTOs, and the beautiful 250
GT Zagato, chassis # 0515GT. To give the participants the choice
of when to use their cars, and for contingency plans in case of
inclement weather or breakdown, the tour was supported by five
multi car transporters and three luxury mini coaches. A trio of
FFs were also provided, for those who wanted to sample
something a little more modern for comparison.
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The guests gathered at the magnificent Chateau D’Artigny, to the
south of the historic city of Tours in France, on the evening of
Friday 04 July, ready for the first part of the event the following
day. This was a visit to the Le Mans Classic meeting, where their
cars were waiting for them, on display in a special parking area in
the centre of the paddock, directly in front of Ferrari Central
Europe’s evocative period display structure. Lunch was taken at a
restaurant at the circuit, where current FIA President, and
ex-Ferrari General Manager/CEO, Jean Todt, was a guest. A new
guest also arrived, Jean Guichet, whom it may be recalled was
very successful in Ferrari 250 GT and Sports Prototype cars in
the sixties, including a win in the Tour de France Auto in 1963
and in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in 1964, driving a 250 GTO and
275P respectively. In the afternoon they had the opportunity to
extend the legs of their steeds on the full Le Mans circuit, with
the rest of the day free to take in the racing from a hospitality
suite. Alternatively there was the opportunity to enjoy all the other
activities that the event had to offer at leisure, before being
transported back to the chateau in the evening, for a soiree,
featuring a music concert and firework display, at the Chateau de
Villandry, with its beautiful formal gardens.
Sunday at Chateau d’Artigny dawned with grey skies and
incessant rain, as the truck drivers and mechanics disgorged the
cars from the transporters, ready for the participants to head
south east towards the city of Lyon, and the Hotel Cour des
Loges in the heart of the historic old town. This would be their
base for the next 3 nights, while they took in all the cultural and
culinary delights that the city, dubbed the gastronomic capital of
France, and its surroundings had to offer, including a music
festival in a Roman amphitheatre. Unsurprisingly, given the
Sunday morning weather, a few participants chose not to drive, as
the forecast was that it was pretty much set in for the day, so the
trucks and coaches came in very useful! Despite the weather, the
drive through the French countryside on scenic byroads, proved to
be enjoyable, with lunch taken at the Restaurant Le Tilleuls in the
small town of Noirlac, noted for its splendid Cistercian abbey.
The driving part of the tour recommenced on the Wednesday
morning, where the participants collected their cars outside of the
city, and it was still raining! The route took them into the Alps,
where the low cloud unfortunately blotted out some of of what
should have been spectacular scenery, to the lunch stop in the
highest city in the European Union (by the French definition of a
community with more than 2000 inhabitants) at 1326 metres, the
fortified city of Briancon. Here special permission had been
granted to take the cars inside the city walls, and fortunately the
rain had ceased by the time they arrived. After lunch the party
headed through the mountain passes and on to San Remo on the
Italian Riviera, arriving on Wednesday evening, where the Royal
Hotel on the seafront wasthe base for the next two nights. The
arrival was heralded by a spectacular double rainbow over the
town and sea, as the rain finally bade farewell, and the
temperature rose to more seasonable levels. Here the cars were
displayed in a parking area directly across the road to the hotel,
and adjacent to the inviting beach, attracting crowds of interested
passer-by all the time that they were on display.
The final leg of the trip was on Friday, from San Remo to the
birthplace of the cars, Maranello, with a lunch stop taken in the
small town of Bobbio, with its abbey, and historic town centre
retaining many of the characteristics of a medieval village. En
route to the town there were some, almost traffic free, great
winding mountain roads and spectacular scenery to be enjoyed,
now in brilliant sunshine. From here it was a short run to
Piacenza, and then the autostrade to Modena, where a police
escort was waiting to get them through the Friday evening rush
hour traffic to Maranello. The participants went straight to Ferrari’s
Fiorano circuit, where they did two laps before assembling for a
group photo shoot on the track in front of the pit complex, with the
cars then being put back in the trucks for the last time. The
participants headed back to the hotel to change for dinner at a
surprise location, which turned out to be a very specially
organised one. It was in a place that doesn’t normally hold such
functions, the house that was Enzo Ferrari’s birthplace, which
forms part of the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena.
The event continued with a factory tour on the Saturday morning,
together with a visit to the Museo Ferrari, prior to lunch at the
renowned Pannini Collection on the family farm near Modena. In
the afternoon there was a visit to the Museo Enzo Ferrari in
Modena, and also to the famous Schedoni leather works, which
was very apt, as at the beginning of the event, Brandon Wang had
presented each participant with either a briefcase (men) or
shoulder bag (ladies) crafted by Schedoni. The event concluded
with a farewell dinner at the Mikele Restaurant in Maranello.
Participating Models
Model Colour Chassis #
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Red 0728TR
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Red 0774TR
Ferrari 250 GT Zagato Dark Blue-White 0515GT
Ferrari 250 GT S1 Cabriolet Grey Met’ 0811GT
Ferrari 250 GT “TdF” Berlinetta Pale Blue 0563GT
Ferrari 250 GT “TdF” Berlinetta Dark Red 0683GT
Ferrari 250 GT “TdF” Berlinetta Red 1389GT
Ferrari 250 GT “Interim” Berlinetta White-Red / Green Stripes
1509GT
Ferrari 250 GT “Interim” Berlinetta Red-White Stripe 1519GT
Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Red 2521GT
Ferrari 250 GT SWB Bertone Silver 1739GT
Ferrari 250 GTO Dark Blue 4219GT
Ferrari 250 GTO Red 4293GT
Ferrari 250 GTO (LM Berl’ Body) Red 4713GT
Ferrari 250 GTO Red 4757GT
Ferrari 250 GT California LWB Spider Dark Red 0923GT
Ferrari 250 GT California LWB Spider Silver 1451GT
Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider Grey Met’ 2383GT
Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider Pale Blue Met’ 3059GT
Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider Dark Blue 4125GT
Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Red Met’ 2889GT
Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Black 3165GT
Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Red 5085GT
Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Pale Blue Met' 5915GT
Support Vehicles
Ferrari F355 Spider Yellow 102791
Ferrari FF Grey Met’ 189017
Ferrari FF Silver 182098
Ferrari FF Black 184014
Keith Bluemel
08/2014
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