Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France (1957)
0763GT, was one of several Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta "Tour de France" cars to be delivered to Jaques Swaters for use by the Belgium "Ecurie Francorchamps" race team. The car was equipped with the desirable three louvre and covered headlamp set up and sold to the privateer racing driver Leon "Elde" Dernier. In the hands of three successful Belgian drivers the car achieved much success in both National and International events in between 1957 and 1965. One particular racing highlight came in the 1959 ADAC 1,000kms of the Nurburgring where the car finished 2nd in the GT class. In 1959 the car's closed headlights were converted into the open configuration and the car continued racing.
0763GT had been part of a significant French collection since 1974 and had remained virtually untouched since racing retirement. As a result, a subsequent sympathetic restoration of the car had been carried out during 2011.
Since completion the car has already attended the Goodwood Revival / Festival of Speed press day, the Ecurie Ecosse Rally, the FF60 Francorchamps rally in Belgium and the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance and Tour. The state of preservation of originality and the extraordinary history of the car have been rewarded by invitations to attend several of the world's most prestigious Concours D'Elegance.
0763 GT is quite possibly the most original extensively raced "Tour de France" in existence and underwent a thorough restoration by Barkaways from 2013 to 2015, taking the car back to its original specification. It has been in storage since where Classiche Certification has been completed on this matching numbers car.
