British Coachbuilder Unveils Ferrari 250-Inspired 'Short Wheelbase'
Image: RML
If you want your very own Ferrari 250 GT Short Wheelbase, you’d better be prepared to fork over more than $10 million. That’s a big chunk of change that most people don’t have. But, let’s say you have a few million bucks laying around — just not $10 million — and you still want a 250 GT SWB. On top of that, you don’t want to deal with a car that is over 60 years old. Well, you’re in luck.
British coachbuilder RML has revealed its first pre-production version of its take on the Ferrari 250 GT Short Wheelbase. While it may look similar to the real car on the outside, underneath its blue skin is something else entirely.
Image: RML
The car is powered by a 5.5 liter naturally aspirated Ferrari V12. It produces 492 horsepower and 419 pound-feet of torque. It’ll propel the little blue couple to 62 mph in just about 4 four seconds with a top speed of 180 mph. Those speeds are nothing to sneeze at, but speed isn’t the intention of RML’s car. It’s designed specifically for grand touring, with a smooth ride and stiff carbon fiber body.
“The Short Wheelbase was always conceived as an emotional model, without compromise, so while we have made sure that the end product conforms to the very highest industry standards in terms of quality, durability and safety, it also captures the character – the look, sound and tactility – of an epic GT car from the golden age of motoring, Michael Mallock, RML’s CEO wrote. “It is, in our eyes, the ultimate grand routier.”
The prototype, known as Car Zero, features multi-layer blue paintwork that consists of “layers of special carbon primer, regular primer and a silver base coat.” The goal is to give the car “a real pop.”
Image: RML
You can also spec out your Short Wheelbase just about any way you would want with a “near-limitless” color palette.
The car’s body is being built from carbon fiber and includes numerous Ferrari design cues, like stacked rear lights, an exposed fuel filler cap, a “chip-cutter” front grille and air vents behind each wheel.
It also comes with some sort of basketweave-style set of wheels, which isn’t exactly everyone’s taste. But who am I to judge? The Short Wheelbase also comes with bespoke Öhlins dampers and a six-speed manual transmission.
Image: RML
The car is actually slightly larger than the original but still has nearly the exact same silhouette. Given the fact this is a car made 60 years later, it also weighs a bit more, coming in at 3,240 pounds.
Step inside and you’ll find room for drivers up to 6’6” tall and modern amenities like electric seats, air conditioning and an infotainment system!
If this sounds like the type of ride for you, act quick. Production is limited to 30 cars. Unfortunately there is no price available yet, but you can assume it’ll cost about the same as a medium-sized island.
