The world is filled with weird, wonderful cars. Why do old people keep obsessing with the same boring ones?
I, for one, could not hear less about the Ferrari 250 GTO. I can understand why people like it — it sounds great, makes good power, and it handles beautifully.
But was it that successful of a racing car? It wasn't bad, but by no means was it more successful than, say, a midengined 250LM or a later 365 Daytona.
Is it pretty? Not if you ask me. In person, it's anything but striking. Droopy.
The real reason why these cars are adored is because they have a Ferrari badge and they were from the early 1960s, when rich nostalgic old farts remember the world as simple and optimistic. England's economy was coming back, JFK hadn't been killed, the Beatles weren't doing drugs yet. The early '60s remain a little bright spot in the collective memory of rich old people, and they continue to champion the era by throwing tens of millions at its cars.
But I never lived in the '60s, so to me the 250 GTO is just yet another swoopy GT car with bad brakes and zero wins at Le Mans or the Targa Florio. Let's make some room in the collective unconscious for some real wonders.
What classic car do you think is the most overplayed of all?
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