This is a brand new Ferrari 330 LMB or rather a very faithful recreation of it, created by UK’s Bell Sport & Classic as a one-off project.
Bell Sport & Classic inherited the project following the untimely death of Edward Carter, who was a huge Ferrari enthusiast and wanted to add a 330 LMB recreation to his collection.
In 2010, Carter purchased a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, on which the car you see in the pictures was based. All the components used in this build are either period-correct or made from scratch by Bell Sport & Classic to the original specification.
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Ferrari made just four examples of the 330 LMB (which stands for Le Mans Berlinetta), a race car built for the 1963 Le Mans 24 Hours. Three of the original cars were left-hand-drive, with the fourth one being the only one with the steering on the right. Out of the three 330 LMBs that raced that year, only one finished the race in fifth place.
This also makes the original 330 LMB a rarer vehicle than the fabled 250 GTO. Moreover, compared to the latter, the 330 LMB had a more powerful 390 HP 4.0-liter Colombo V12 engine and featured a 20mm-longer wheelbase, as well as a redesigned aluminum body. The 330 LMB is also Ferrari’s last front-engined race car of that era.
With the help of Terry Hoyle, who has intimate knowledge of chassis 4725, the original right-hand drive LMB, the donor vehicle was sent to RS Panels to have its chassis shortened and create a bodywork buck, using numerous images, cardboard body patterns, and measurements of chassis 4725.
When the car arrived at Bell Sport & Classic, the wings and roof were already attached, but the dashboard was not fitted and the door skins were incomplete. The restoration specialists fabricated numerous items to finish the project, including window catches, headlamp covers, the rear Perspex screen, and many more.
“Three years of work has been lavished on this car. And, as with all our customer restoration projects, we have applied painstaking detail to every aspect. Everything is hand-built and unique,” said Elliot East, the head of the 330 LMB project. “It was a delicate balance to achieve, deploying modern restoration techniques to make the new LMB as comfortable and as road-useable as possible, without sacrificing any of its race-bred character.”
The Colombo V12 engine was converted to dry-sump specification and its capacity was increased from 3.0 to 4.0 liters. It now has six bespoke carburetors instead of the Weber 42s fitted to the original car as well as custom fuel rail and linkages. After running it on a dyno, the engine made 390 HP at 7,000 rpm and 300 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm, exactly the same as the real 330 LMPs. The only spec change under the bonnet was the addition of a cooling fan since this project is more road-biased.
The engine is bolted to a fully rebuilt five-speed manual transmission, instead of the original’s four-speed gearbox. This was done as a “sympathetic enhancement” in order to further improve the car’s road manners. Other upgrades include a high torque starter motor, an electronic ignition, electric fuel pumps, a modern voltage regulator, and an electric washer motor, along with a full fire system and welded, leak-free fuel tank inside an external riveted tank.
“This remarkable 330 LMB remastering is an outstanding showcase for the incredible talent that lies within Bell Sport & Classic,” Tim Kearns, Managing Director of Bell Sport and Classic, said. “The dedication they have put into this very special project over the last three years is outstanding, with every component either restored, rebuilt, or created from scratch, blending the very latest restoration and engineering techniques with a selection of sympathetic upgrades.”
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