by Mike Gulett –
The story of the Ferrari 250 Breadvan is one of the great motorsport legends—part rebellion, part engineering brilliance, and part personality clash. It is one of the most recognizable one-off competition Ferraris ever built, yet it was born not at Ferrari in Maranello, but from rivalry, pride and a last-minute act of defiance.
It could very well be the fastest Ferrari 250 race car including the 250 GTO. I saw the Breadvan in person at the Ferrari Museum in 2013, my photos from that day are below.
Ferrari 250 Breadvan – Photo from “Gabriele Spangenberg“ (Gaby)
Background
In late 1961, Ferrari was in management turmoil. A political and personal struggle inside the company—called the “Palace Revolt”—led to the departure of several key people, including:
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Giotto Bizzarrini – lead engineer behind the 250 GTO
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Carlo Chiti – brilliant engineer and aerodynamicist
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Several top race team personnel
At the same time, wealthy Italian aristocrat and privateer racer Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, owner of Scuderia Serenissima, had been a valuable Ferrari customer and race entrant.
Giotto Bizzarrini and the Ferrari Breadvan at Pebble Beach in 1990
But when the split happened, Volpi sided with the expelled people. Enzo Ferrari did not appreciate this to say the least.
So when Volpi attempted to buy the brand-new, homologated and race-ready 250 GTO for the 1962 season, Ferrari refused. He would not sell his latest weapon to someone he viewed as having betrayed him.
The Birth of the Breadvan
Denied a GTO, Volpi had an idea:If he couldn’t buy one—he would build something better.
He hired Bizzarrini and the ex-Ferrari crew to modify one of his existing racing cars: a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB “Competizione” (chassis 2819 GT).
The car already had the core mechanical architecture of a GTO:
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Colombo V12 engine
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Lightweight chassis
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Proven race pedigree
But Bizzarrini wanted more than a conversion—he wanted to prove a point that his engineering vision was better than Ferrari’s.
Ferrari Breadvan With Gary Wales Leaning On The Rear Fender – photo by Dave Craddock at the Detroit Autorama in 1965-66
Engineering and Aerodynamics: Ahead of Its Time
Bizzarrini lengthened the car’s nose and reworked nearly every aspect of the body. The most radical feature was the Kamm-tail rear profile, designed under aerodynamic principles championed by German engineer Dr. Wunibald Kamm.
This tail configuration reduced drag while maintaining stability at high speed.
The shape was so unusual—long, flat, and squared-off—that a British journalist jokingly called it “the Breadvan.”
The name stuck.
Other key upgrades:
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Dry-sump lubrication allowing a lower engine position
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Downdraft Weber carburetors enabling a lower hood line
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Weight reduction: nearly 100 kg lighter than a 250 GTO
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Improved suspension geometry
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Revised exhaust for power and throttle response
The result was a car that was:
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Lighter
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More aerodynamic
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More advanced than the 250 GTO
Photo from “Gabriele Spangenberg” (Gaby) driving the Ferrari 250 Breadvan
Racing Debut: Le Mans 1962
The Breadvan made its public debut at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Despite being developed in mere months, the car immediately embarrassed Ferrari’s works team—on pure speed alone.
Down the long Mulsanne straight, the Breadvan out-paced every 250 GTO.
It was running strongly and impressively when a driveshaft failure forced its retirement. Still, the point had been made: technically, Bizzarrini’s creation worked.
Over the rest of the season, the Breadvan continued racing, often beating the GTOs in its class.
Later Life, Preservation, and Legend
Unlike many 1960s race cars, the Breadvan survived intact, with no attempts to convert it back into a “normal” Ferrari. Over decades, its reputation grew from curiosity to icon.
Today, it is:
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One of the most famous Ferrari race cars ever built
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A regular highlight at Goodwood Revival, Mille Miglia retrospectives, and concours events
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Universally recognized for its shape and story
Though not officially a Ferrari project, most enthusiasts, and Ferrari itself, now acknowledge it as an essential part of the marque’s racing heritage.
Ferrari Breadvan – photo by Dave Craddock at the Detroit Autorama in 1965-66
Legacy
The Ferrari 250 Breadvan represents:
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A bold engineering experiment ahead of its time
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A personal statement against Enzo Ferrari
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A successful demonstration of aerodynamic theory
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A one-off machine with outsized historical impact
Its story embodies the best of 1960s motorsport: personality, rivalry, innovation, and speed.
Today, the Breadvan is more than a car it is a symbol of rebellion and genius. And it has a shape and a history like no other.
Has Ferrari Forgiven Bizzarrini?
A couple of things surprised me on my visit to the Ferrari museum in Modena in April 2013. In the small bookstore there were two books that I did not expect to see there: “Bizzarrini” by Winston Goodfellow and “Rebel Rebel” by Marc Sonnery.
The first book is the history of Giotto Bizzarrini’s car life and his cars. The second is about the Ferrari 250 Breadvan.
The next thing that surprised me is that when I walked into the museum the one and only Breadvan was the first car that I saw.
There are no Ferrari badges on the Breadvan but the prancing horse is on the center of the steering wheel.
Since the “Palace Revolt” it seems that Giotto Bizzarrini has not been recognized by Ferrari for his contributions to the Ferrari racing success during his five years with the company.
Are these signs of forgiveness from Ferrari? I do not know but it has been many years since Enzo Ferrari has left us. Perhaps all has been forgiven by the Ferrari management of today.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Research and some text by ChatGPT 5.
Just a sidenote, if you read my story about the design of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, it’s in different places on the Internet, including in my book, designing dreams. You will see that when we needed to find a quick rear end for the Toronado I happen to have Road and Track on my desk, the page was open at the back, and there was a picture of the chopped off back end Ferrari Breadvan. I was looking for something different than the Riviera W plan and the Cadillac with vertical tail lamps. There it was, I made a sketch, showed it to my boss Stan Wilen and he said “great”. Put it on the car. That became the backend on the production Toronado.
Later, I had a lot of aero dynamics experience myself, probably more than anyone at GM design, certainly in those late 1960s. I always thought that the profile of the car was too high, that the roof should’ve been falling toward the rear and probably would’ve given them a lower drag. I don’t know if they actually windtunneled that car or if it was just a very good attempt using existing experience..
Thank you for the story, I always wondered how it happened. It was the first car to use a chopped off back end. Aerodynamicists had theories then. That were incomplete disagreement. They couldn’t decide whether air should go under a car or over a car. It turned out to kind of be both.