Used nose section that appears to fit a 250 GTO

We are pleased to be able to offer this piece of bodywork from the Estate of the Earl of Denbigh where it has remained for many years in a corner of a barn. It appears to be from a Ferrari 250GTO. It's in alloy and looks to have been damaged at some point, repaired and painted and is the centre section of the nose (not the full nose). With the bonnet fairly far up the front of the car, quick access to the front end was difficult and apparently racing teams used to cut out this section to make access easier, replacing it later and making good the paintwork. It has the Zeus fasteners used for blanking plates for the three air intakes, the replicating of which would be pointless if it were created as a piece of automobilia. It has no markings or factory stamps which, we understand was normal on these part panels.

Ferrari GTO #3757GT was finished in early June 1962 and despatched to its first owner, Jacques Swaters of Ecurie Francorchamps, to be finally race-prepared for Le Mans later that month. It was entered under the auspices of Equipe Nationale Belge and driven by 'Eldé' and 'Beurlys'. Bearing the race number 22, it placed 3rd overall and 2nd in class (GT3.0) just 12 laps down on the class winner, Pierre Noblet's privately entered GTO. It continued to be raced with some success well into 1963 when it was sold to Englishman, Peter Clarke. BRDC Member, Peter Clarke, was a capable club racer who was most active between 1961-69 racing a variety of cars both here and abroad with some decent success. He prepared the GTO, now registered 4 HLY, for the '64 season and used it for a number of races in 1965 enjoying a total of 30 outings in 4 HLY before replacing it with Ferrari 250LM #5895 in late 1965. His final race in 4 HLY was at Goodwood in the Sussex Trophy in April 1966. Some of these long-distance GT races were two-driver and he shared the car with a number of co-drivers including Rollo Fielding on 23/5/65 at the Nurburgring 1000km and the Reims 12 Hours on 4/07/65. Both of these events were recorded, sadly, as DNFs. He and Rollo ( Viscount William Fielding, 11th Earl of Denbigh) obviously remained friends as they teamed up again in Peter's 250LM for the Kyalami 9 Hours in 1966 and the Brands Hatch 6 Hours in 1967. #3757 enjoyed further success in the USA at Sebring and Daytona on 28/02/1965 where it placed first in class (GT3.0), all well documented elsewhere. #3757GT was sold some years later to Nick Mason and is now, probably, the most well known of the 36 GTOs.

There are a few possibilities for this piece of tinware. Maybe one of the DNFs, when Rollo Fielding was driving, was an accident and the front was replaced and paid for by Rollo with the battered one being kept as a souvenir, or it may have been damaged earlier in the car's career, roughly repaired and painted and kept as a spare. It looks like it's had some hard use as you might expect at the front of a GT car on a long-distance race but could be pressed back into service if required. On the other hand, as the men remained friends for years, Peter Clarke may have stored a pile of spares in one of Rollo Fielding's barns after the GTO was succeeded by the LM and they were collected or sold off over the years leaving the nose piece forgotten under a sheet in the corner. (From a member of the family, we understand that Peter Clarkes' ashes were scattered in the grounds of the Denbigh estate).

Here at Silverstone Auctions, we are making no claims for this piece of bodywork. It may have been a part of the bodywork of #3757 (podium at Le Mans 1962, a win at Daytona), it may have come from another 250GT0 purchased as a spare or it may be a piece of 'Wall art'. We know what we think but invite interested parties to view it for themselves and form their own conclusion.