Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione - 24 Hours Le Mans 1961
Diecast model car in 1/18 scale manufactured by KK Scale (ref. DIE-59870, also 4260699761040 and KKDC180862)

Introduced in 1959, Ferrari's 250 GT SWB has been one of the few models in automotive history where design and functionality combine perfectly (possibly only surpassed by its direct successor, the 250 GTO) to become something more than the sum of its parts and be considered an art form rather than mere transportation. A true genius coming from the hands of Pininfarina and Scaglietti

The 250 GT SWB was the product of evolution, the search for perfection and mastery of competition. Its predecessor, the “Tour de France” variant of the 250 GT, had been highly successful in GT racing, but the SWB represented a radical change for Ferrari. Designed with a shorter chassis with a wheelbase of 2.4 meters, the SWB debuted the elaborate 168B version of Ferrari's 3-liter V-12 engine and also fitted four-wheel disc brakes.

Living up to the expectations placed on it, the SWB Competizione variant went on to dominate GT racing in Europe and America, achieving outright or class victories in almost 250 races between 1960 and 1967. And among them are a series of epic victories, with notable class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1960 and 1961, as well as outright victory in the 1961 and 1962 Tour de France, the latter against an entire battalion of eight 250 GTOs and, of course, Stirling Moss's two Goodwood Tourist Trophy victories in 1960 and 1961.