1995 Ferrari F355 Challenge

Lot details
Registration No: L13 SSC
Chassis No: ZFFPA41C000101515
Mot Expiry: April 2015

And now for something rather special - ie Ferrari F355 Challenge chassis 101515, a street legal Ferrari race car; and a winning one at that! The fact is there was never an official road-legal F355 Challenge model, but the first five entered the UK as what might be described as incomplete projects - ie standard road cars (save for roll cage mounting points and lack of carpets) together with the box of goodies required to turn them into snarling racers. The packages were provided for the dealers to sell, but only one UK outlet, MHT, showed interest, so ended up buying and converting all five right-hand drive cars, including 101515. The conversion kit included: competition clutch; quick steering rack; firmer springs and dampers, and solid suspension bushes; a choice of exhausts; OMP bucket seats; Momo Type 88 steering wheel; ignition cut-off switch; safety harness; roll-cage; fire extinguisher; 18inch magnesium Speedline Corse wheels; Plexiglass rear window; Black-painted Challenge mesh grille; lighter front bumper; and Brembo brakes. Items removed from the standard car not surprisingly included the air conditioning system and the stereo system.

Chassis 101515 was purchased by Alain Li of Richemont (ie Cartier, Montblanc, Van Cleef etc) fame and raced by him in both 1995 and 1996, before which, while running-in the engine, he used it (complete with racing graphics) for commuting and dropping his daughters off at school. On one occasion he was even stopped by the police, who were so excited by the Ferrari they summoned their colleagues to come and have a look. Li contested the European series with vigour as well as the UK-based 1995 Maranello Challenge Championship, in which he was the winner of Class C.

Li part-exchanged Chassis 101515 for a new 355 Challenge car at the end of the 1996 season. Acquired by Robin Mortimer (the M of MHT) thereafter, it was converted to road going specification and passed through various hands before coming to the attention of John Greatorex of GT Cars, Warrington. Looking decidedly standard despite being advertised for sale as a Challenge car, it was only when he tapped the rear window and discovered it was Plexiglass not glass that he knew he'd stumbled on something special. So, he duly purchased the car and set about returning it to full Challenge specification, exactly as now offered. The only obvious difference is that standard F355 brakes have been retained, as the Challenge specification ones are expensive and unsuitable for road use. A new clutch has been installed and the cambelts renewed.

`L13 SSC' (ie `Li 355 Challenge') comes complete with its Ferrari UK Immobiliser Installation Certificate and original book pack, the service record from which displays the following stamps: 984 miles (MHT); 8,168 (MHT); 12,219 (MHT); 23,031 (Chilton Car Clinic); 46,273 (Bob Houghton); 50,974 GT Cars - the odometer currently stands at 51,677 miles. Interim attention has been provided by MHT, DK Engineering, Talacrest, QV London, Bob Houghton and Performance Car Engineering of Wells, while its V5C Registration Document lists six former keepers.

Interestingly, an extended warranty was granted to Dr Francis Wilkin in 1998 at an indicated 8,200 miles, suggesting the car's competition career had not been overly harsh/destructive. It also sports its original side glass etched with `A1515NGC', again pointing to a pleasing lack of contact. All told, `L13 SSC' represents a unique and exciting opportunity for Ferrari aficionados everywhere - a car sufficiently famous to be the subject of an upcoming article in Octane magazine and to have had a La Mini Miniera model made of it!