Increasingly popular with collectors and drivers, the FIA GT1 category vehicles not only have a recognizable bloodline with their street counterparts, but also allow access to excellent racing on some of the best circuits in the world. . And put a jewel like a Ferrari 550 GT1 Using it in the garage and on the racetrack is only a privilege for a few.
The 550 GT1 is the competition version of the well-known 550 Maranellowhich has made it onto the list of Emilian manufacturers to replace the Testarossa line; whose last link was the F512 M. The 550 was the last horse with a V12 engine to take an absolute victory in a 24-hour race at Spa in 2004. Last year the same car was one of 10 of Prodrive, was auctioned for a price of $ 4.29 million.
This is an edition from 2001 and is one of the four units that Italtecnica prepared for the Rafanelli team (chassis # 115811). The drivers were behind the wheel of this wild beast in the FIA GT Championship in the same season Emanuele Naspetti Yes Mimmo Schiattarella. He made his debut at Monza, but retired due to a steering error. He later finished fifth and fourth in Brno (Czech Republic) and Magny-Cours (France), respectively. Then he took another fifth place at Silverstone (UK).
The first real win would come in Zolder, Belgium, where he took pole position. The car later drove at the Spa 24 Hours, where it qualified second and briefly led the race. Unfortunately it got pulled after just six hours because of a crankshaft that said enough. About 550 kilos lighter than the Grand Tourer Straße, the chassis has been significantly modified and the ex-McLaren F1 designer, Peter Stevens, the body and aerodynamics of the Italian team have been heavily revised.
This Ferrari 550 GT1 missed most of the 2002 season but drove each of the last three laps (despite retiring). In 2003 he continued to fight for victories and achieved two victories in Italian GT racing on the A1-Ring. The car won a total of three gold cups during the Italian GT Championship and came third in the overall standings. During this time he was occasionally from Toto wolff, the current team manager Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
The car has been completely restored since its retirement and its equipment features the same Red Bull paintwork that it acquired in 2002. We remind you that the Ferrari 550 GT1, the heart of the 550 Maranello, an atmospheric V12 block, was upgraded to 6.0 liters instead of 5.5 liters from the factory. The aerodynamic effects along with the performance of the car made the Ferrari 550 GT1 a very distinctive machine in the C.FIA GT Ampeonat And in the American Le Mans Series.
Well funded, brilliantly conceived, and impeccably executed, the show was a resounding success; the cars achieved no fewer than 50 victories in a general or class at international events in their five years of service. And if you’ve got the same enthusiasm as us about getting a copy, this is your chance. This Ferrari 550 GT1 in the Red Bull livery is being auctioned by RM Shothebys next June 15th from Estimate between 1.8 and 2 million euros (Visit the source for a detailed gallery).
Source: RM Sotheby’s
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