Stirling Moss was no stranger to success at Goodwood, winning there so often it became not about what he did, but how he did it.
Nothing says this more than the Ferrari 250 GT SWB in which he took his seventh and final Tourist Trophy win in 1961 at the famous Sussex circuit – Moss’s final appearance at the track prior to his fateful accident there later that year.
In this month’s edition, Motor Sport takes one of the world’s most prized cars for a test drive round Goodwood, recreating an iconic Moss racing moment in the process – as pictured in our stunning gallery below.
Chassis 2735GT was ordered by longtime team boss Rob Walker for Moss to assert his sports car superiority, which he did with aplomb, winning five out of his six races in the car.
As Andrew Frankel explains, the rarefied Maranello machine does not just possess breathtaking sporting provenance, but is also ‘specced out’ as the ultimate 250 GT SWB.
“This is not only an alloy-bodied Competizione model, but the ultimate ‘Comp/61’ model, probably better known as a ‘SEFAC Hot Rod’ and the only one built with right-hand drive,” he says.
“It was also made by a Ferrari keen as mustard to secure the services of Moss as a factory driver, which is why, while most racing SWBs had around 275bhp from their single cam, 3-litre Colombo V12 motors, the period dyno sheet for this one recorded 299bhp at 7700rpm, as much power on three carburettors as a decent GTO would manage the following season on six.”
Gallery
Stirling Moss’s TT-winning Ferrari 250 GT SWB at Goodwood
The definitive image from this Ferrari 250 GT SWB’s long life – Stirling Moss at Madgwick on his way to winning the 1961 Tourist Trophy at Goodwood...
Getty Images
...And more than 60 years later here’s the same car at the same section of track – and a our man with a Moss-inspired helmet at the wheel
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
Jayson Fong
The results spoke for themselves. As well as the Goodwood win, Moss would also break the respective GT records at Silverstone and Brands Hatch on the way to victory at both, always looking at one with the car.
After its six Moss outings, UDT Laystall would purchase the car for two Innes Ireland races, before going through a number of owners and refits, eventually being bought by Ferrari collector Clive Beecham and restored to its as-new specification.
“It’s quite something to step out on that circuit and in that car”
In celebration of such a symbiotic car and racer, Motor Sport put the SWB through its paces shortly before this weekend’s 80th Goodwood Members Meeting.
On taking the car on track, Frankel has the tricky task of obtaining the killer shot in recognition – not a simple task.
With our photographer Jayson Fond stood at the quick Madgwick corner at Goodwood, stood perilously to the track’s edge, Frankel knows a deft touch is needed to get the car in just the right position at speed.
“The image of Stirling in this car, at this very spot and at that very angle is as clear to me as the track ahead,” he says.
“I know exactly where Jayson will be standing and precisely what I must do. I issue the instruction – angle towards the first apex but keep perhaps a foot short of it – and the Ferrari executes with such eagerness you could be forgiven for thinking it had been here before. Which of course it has.
“Power on over hump, feel the back go light, reduce the lock to compensate, let it settle, and there, right on cue, is the slightly hunched figure of our photographer whose job today is far harder than mine. Aim the car towards rather than right at him, and let its natural trajectory describe an elegant arc right around and past, V12 shrieking you down towards Fordwater.”
In spite of the task in hand, the gravity of the moment was not lost on our writer.
“It’s quite something to step out on that circuit and in that car,” he says. “I can hear Stirling in my ear gently imploring, ‘Come on boy, wring its neck.’ So with the engine now nicely warmed through, and for the first time, I let the SWB cut completely loose.
“Clive was right. At 4500rpm, it clears its throat and lunges at the horizon. Even today 300bhp in a one-tonne car is going to get your attention, but really it’s the noise, that heart-rending howl.
“Were it not for Goodwood’s noise meters finally calling time, I like to think I’d still be out there.”
