Although it started life as a Ferrari 250 GT Short Wheelbase Competizione, chassis number 2819 GT has become famous as the distinctive and instantly recognisable ‘Breadvan’.
Breadvan – A Ferrari To Beat The GTO is to be launched at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 8th -11th July 2021. Signed copies will be available from Porter Press International at Stand No. 63.
| Publication Information |
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| ISBN: 9781907085369 (Classic Edition) ISBN: 9781913089450 (Collector’s Edition) |
| RRP: £45.00 (Classic Edition) RRP: £TBA (Collector’s Edition) |
| Format: Jacketed Hardback, 224 pages, 285mm x 235mm, July 2021 |
| Photos/Illustrations: over 220 images |
| Subject: Cars, Motorsport |
| Publisher: Porter Press International |
| Author: Richard Heseltine with Keith Bluemel and Nicola von Dönhoff |
Breadvan: A Ferrari to beat the GTO by Richard Heseltine with Keith Bluemel and Nicola von Dönhoff
Although it started life as a Ferrari 250 GT Short Wheelbase Competizione, chassis number 2819 GT has become famous as the distinctive and instantly recognisable ‘Breadvan’. Delivered new in 1961 to sports car ace Olivier Gendebien and used in the gruelling Tour de France, 2819 GT was soon acquired by charismatic Italian aristocrat Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata for his Scuderia Serenissima team.
Volpi had been one of Enzo Ferrari’s best customers in the early 1960s, but his involvement with the upstart ATS team – established in the wake of the notorious ‘Palace Coup’ at Maranello – had got him black-balled. Enzo refused to supply the two GTOs that Volpi had ordered for 1962, so the Count decided to gain his revenge by converting 2819 GT into something that could beat Ferrari’s latest Berlinetta.
Giotto Bizzarrini, the man who’d carried out the early work on the GTO before leaving Maranello under a cloud, applied his engineering genius to Volpi’s Short Wheelbase and converted it into the Breadvan – a car that has captivated enthusiasts ever since. It made its race début in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hours and was driven by the likes of Italian aces Ludovico Scarfiotti and Carlo Maria Abate, while Volpi and glamourous friends such as Gunter Sachs and Gianni Agnelli also used it as a sensational road car.
This book tells the full story of the Breadvan’s long and fascinating life, from its period competition days to its return to racing in the UK during the 1970s and its starring role in the biggest historic motor sport events of the 21st century. Author Richard Heseltine has uncovered a wealth of new information, such as 2819 GT’s previously overlooked appearances at Daytona and Sebring in 1962, and has spoken to owners and drivers from throughout the car’s life – right up to Emanuele Pirro and the Halusa family.
Keith Bluemel – one of the world’s leading Ferrari historians – has contributed a chapter that charts the development of the fabled 250 GT line, while Nicola von Dönhoff has written an entertaining account of the Breadvan’s summer adventures on the French Riviera, from Gianni Agnelli painting the car black to Gunter Sachs getting arrested in it…
Packed with hundreds of archive photographs, plus a brand-new studio photoshoot by John Colley, it’s a fitting celebration of a unique Ferrari that continues to be a fan favourite around the world.
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