A sneak peek at South Africa’s only GTO Engineering 250 SWB Revival

In a very neat garage in Johannesburg we visit an owner who pulled out his GTO Engineering 250 SWB Revival, so we can take a closer look at one of the most beautiful creations of the 20th century, or should it be the 21st century?

Words: Wilhelm Lutjeharms

It is not every day, especially in South Africa, that you get to be up close to a GTO Engineering 250 SWB Revival. These cars are built as authentic recreations of Ferrari’s original 250 SWB which started production in 1959. I, for one, would love to see an original and a GTO Engineering example next to one another, because I think it honestly is almost impossible to tell the difference.

The owner of this car didn’t take the ordering process of the 250 SWB Revival lightly. He thought a long time about it before he pressed the button to place an order. Even though it is a much more affordable prospect versus sourcing an original one, it is still a large sum of money for this fully built and re-engineered car. Under the bonnet is the beautiful V12 engine delivering 238 kW while GTO Engineering starts the process with an existing 250 chassis or that of a 330 GT. 

The beauty of the exterior with the rawness of the cabin presents a wonderful contrast. Then there is the solid feel of every switch, lever or touch point on the car. When the car is parked, the trumpets (air intakes) on top of the engine are neatly covered to stop dust from entering the system. 

The project

“I’ve always loved the 250 SWB Berlinetta shape. I like it even more than the 250 GTO. The latter is fantastic, but there is just something regarding the styling of the SWB that makes it stand out, and it has always attracted me. I started to become more interested in the classic Ferraris over the years, the different engine builders, the history and also the different coachbuilders.”

“An original 250 SWB was not an option, and then I started looking around for other possibilities. Then I found GTO Engineering in the UK. It was the early days of the company building these cars... that was about eight years ago. Then I sat down and analysed the entire project and costs and decided to go ahead. I found a donor car in the UK and then the project started. But I’ll admit, it is quite a mission.

“They keep you updated throughout the process, although to be honest, as an enthusiast, I would have liked to have received even more frequent notifications.

• Find a classic Ferrrari for sale for yourself.

“The car is driving and running really well. It just needs a final tune for altitude. I’ll take it to a specialist who knows how to tune these engines. Normally I run this car with straight pipes, but in the UK it was tuned with the original pipes. I’m honestly quite surprised by how quick this car is. It only weighs 960 kg! We tested it at a weighbridge.”

Interestingly, GTO Engineering confirmed the following on its website: “The order book for Revivals is currently closed. We have a backlog of work so our focus is on delivering existing orders to our extremely high standards.

We’re immensely proud of the work we’ve done in the past 10 years - our Revivals are widely regarded as the world’s finest recreations of the 250 SWB, 250 TR and 250 California Spyder. However, we're getting back to what we always did best: restoring, servicing, racing, touring, supplying parts and having fun with original Ferraris.

Existing Revival clients occasionally wish to sell their cars. Please register your interest if you’d like to be notified when one becomes available.”

This means that you can’t order a new creation, which is likely to mean these Revivals will, expectedly, become quite collectable.

The owner of this example, who is a mechanic by trade, works on his cars himself, and has a real passion for it, as well as taking the car out and driving it. Enthusiasts around Johannesburg might have seen the Revival at selective events, and it will continue to impress young and old wherever it goes.