Ferrari’s greatest: 250 GT SWB and 166 MM Barchetta
Firstly, Beecham insists, he is not a car collector. Although he appreciates that some people buy and sell cars purely to make money, his stable is more of a passion as he enjoys researching their rich histories almost as much as he relishes driving them.
Clive Beecham is the man with the answers. Although he’s clearly not down on his uppers, it is reasonable to assume that he has access to cashflow beyond the realms of most of us. After all, how else do you acquire — then maintain and insure — two extremely rare Ferraris?
Two of his current five cars are the aforementioned Ferraris, a 250 GT SWB Competizione and a 166 MM Barchetta. The 250 GT was produced in June 1961 and Beecham has owned it since 1984. It is chassis number 2735, one of only three right-hand drive Competition short-wheelbase cars and one of the most famous of all 250 SWBs, thanks to the deep blue Rob Walker racing colours and the number 7, denoting it as the car in which Stirling Moss won the 1961 Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood.
It was also raced by Graham Hill and Innes Ireland. Chassis 2735 was the Ferrari most raced by Moss, who described it as the “best GT car in the world”.
