Girard Perregaux

GP?s "secret" and last Ferrari editions, Laureato F40 / Richeville 250GTO

Jul 17, 2005,02:02 AM

Dear GP fans,

a little more input on the two limited editions, for sure the last "Pour Ferrari" pieces to be made and most probably a slightly "problematic" series.

For our coverage on the two previous editions, please check here: The 2004 limited editions, as of December 2004

For earlier discussion, including pictures, please check this earlier thread.

First of all, there are no "official" pictures and these limited editions will not be publically advertised in the various media.
The "secretive" approach may be apparent from a side note:

In the contect of GP?s partnership agreement with Ferrari ending, GP does no longer advertise Ferrari labeled products since December 31st, 2004.
No communication is planned for the introduction of these two series.

The "F40"

The car

The F40, which was designed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Ferrari, was a car with a mission : in 1987 Enzo Ferrari was in his 90th year, and celebrating his 40th anniversary as a car-maker. He knew this would be one of his last major milestones and planned to propose the king of road cars ; at the time it was introduced, it was the fastest road car ever built, the first to better 200mph.

The F40 aggressive design is a development derivating from the 288 GTO. Whereas the GTO's looks are understated, the F40's curvaceous body and huge rear wing just scream performance.

The F40 uses a V8. Like the manufacturer's contemporary Formula 1 engines, the V8 is fitted with two turbochargers and intercoolers. The three liter engine was rated at 478 bhp, which was well within the chassis' 600 - 650 bhp limit.

The watch

The Laureato F40 is proposed as a limited edition of 500 pieces in steel and 40 pieces in pink gold.
The steel version is available with two dial versions (with Ferrari crest / without Ferrari crest).
The pink gold version is only proposed with one dial (without Ferrari crest).

The Laureato F40 is the first Laureato Evo3 in steel with a rubber strap.
It features a fly-back movement with a central chronograph minute hand.

The watch will be delivered with a dedicated Ferrari red lacquered gift box with Ferrari crest and a dedicated leaflet.

variants:

The "250GTO"

The car

The 250 GTO, which is widely considered to be the essential Ferrari model and among the greatest cars ever made.

The Gran Turismo Omologato (Italian for "Grand Touring Homologated) was designed in the early sixties by Gestione Sportiva?s Giotto Bizzarrini to compete in GT racing. It is an evolution of the 250 GT SWB and was the last berlinetta Ferrari with front engine designed for racing : as such it can be viewed as the ultimate expression of the Maranello car manufacture in the field of classic ?gran turismo?.
Part of the lure of the 250 GTO is its exclusivity.
In 1962-63, 33 cars were completed of which 32 featured the basic Comp/62 design. In the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans race, Luigi Chinetti?s North American Racing Team (NART) entered a 250 GTO fitted with a special body known as 250 GTO LMB.
For the 1964 season a new 250 GTO specification was developed to race in GT class and 3 additional GTO were assembled bringing the total production to 36. Last, 4 customers returned their GTO to the factory to have them re-bodied in the 1964 specification.
So today, there are 28 chassis fitted with the Comp/62 body, one GTO LMB, and 7 with a 1964 body.

The watch

The Richeville 250 GTO is proposed as limited editions of :
- 1 piece in white gold and 1 piece in pink gold for the 250 GTO LMB
- 28 pieces in pink gold and 28 pieces in white gold for the 250 GTO
- 7 pieces in pink gold and 7 pieces in white gold for the 250 GTO ?64

The watch will be delivered with a dedicated Ferrari red lacquered Haute Horlogerie self-winding box with a engraved plate and a dedicated leaflet.

The dial and look:
Since there?s no official picture for public use, let me describe the look.
The "250GTB" is a close cousin of the "275GTB", which was introduced in late 2004. Thus it comes with a black dial, broad white hands and luminous hour numerals. The hands for chronograph functions are red, whereas the calendar functions are indicated with white hands.
This model makes use of GP?s chronograph and perpetual calendar module, which is the same as "Tribute to Enzo Ferrari", "Vintage45 Chronograph Perpetual" and the newly introduced "Laureato Perpetual". The functionality thus is the identical, as is the layout and arrangement of the subdials.

variants and references:

Both editions are scheduled for delivery in October 2005.

These are the informations possible to gather at this point.
As much as i begged, no pictures for public use on the web so far (for obvious reasons...). Public use of pictures was explicitly prohibited by GP and i?m bound by my word not to release them on the forum.
Don?t kick me, i?m just the bearer of the news...

Greetings from germany,

Peter

GP?s "secret" and last Ferrari editions, Laureato F40 / Richeville 250GTO

The "F40"

The "250GTO"

GP?s "secret" and last Ferrari editions, Laureato F40 / Richeville 250GTO

Thanks for the info ..... it sounds like the final split between GP and Ferrari ...

That?s true

Thanks Peter...this info is appreciated

Good luck in your hunt Joe :-) nt

Thanks for the detail Peter :-) nt

I believe you mean F430, not F40

The "F40" and "250GTO" model names are correct (nt)

Photo of the Rose Gold 90215-52-611BBA6A

Photo of the Rose Gold 90215-52-611BBA6A