Ferrari were determined to win 1961's International GT Championship for Constructors' and produced a handful of very special cars to do it with. Essentially a crack evolution of the Competizione's used so effectively throughout 1960, these revised 250 GT SWB's, often referred to as the SEFAC Hot Rods or Comp/61's, were lighter and more powerful thanks to the use of several trick components. However, as with any small series of Ferrari competition cars, detail variations were apparent from one example to the next. Consequently, it is worth noting that just because an original SEFAC Hot Rod does not correspond 100% with the specification discussed below, that doesn't mean it's either incorrect or unoriginal. Indeed, for the right factory spec of any of these specialist cars, check Ferrari's build sheets as most featured a couple of individual details somewhere in their construction.
Riding a special Tipo 539/61 chassis, this frame was unique to the 1961 Hot Rods and came in much lighter than the regular item thanks to its even smaller diameter tubing. Supplementary bracing increased rigidity and some mild suspension changes meant SEFAC Hot Rods were to the highest specification of their day. Using a competition prepared Tipo 168 B/61 engine, there were 250 TR heads with revised cam timing, larger intake ports and bigger intake manifolds, six twin choke Weber 46 DCF/3 carburettors replacing the 36 or 40's fitted normally. Compression was set high at 9.5:1 to produce between 285 and 295bhp at 7000rpm. A straight-through competition exhaust was fitted but Ferrari were still having to retain their original four-speed box (albeit ribbed for lighter weight) due to homologation constraints. Performance was phenomenal as, depending on gear and axle ratios, these cars could achieve 160mph at Le Mans or sprint to sixty in around five seconds. The lightweight theme continued with ultra-thin aluminium panels fabricated by Scaglietti to Pininfarina's initial design, sliding Plexiglas two-piece windows and purely decorative aluminium bumpers being fitted. Meanwhile, another important difference between most '61 hot rods and the standard Competizione's were the new cars marginally set back, more rakish windscreens. |
