Did you know that Prodrive homologated its GT racing version of the Ferrari 550 Maranello as a 550 GTO? We appreciate that comparing the car to the fabled 1960s Ferrari with which is shares its ‘Gran Turismo Omologato’ nomenclature sounds bizarre, but there are, in fact, parallels to be drawn.

Both are front-engined 12-cylinder Ferraris. Both were utterly dominant in their respective (golden) eras of GT racing. Both won their class at the most famous and challenging endurance race of them all: Le Mans. Both emit soul-stirring symphonies from their exhaust pipes. And, perhaps this goes without saying, both are also exceptionally beautiful.

Conceived by the Frenchman Frédéric Dor’s Care Racing Development outfit and designed, developed and constructed by Prodrive, the Ferrari 550 GT1s, as they were more commonly known, entered 343 races across the globe between 2001 and 2008, scoring 60 pole positions, 69 victories and 151 podium finishes.

They’re extraordinary statistics, and a testament to the expertise of Prodrive, whose skilled designers and engineers were able to unlock the racing potential of the 550 Maranello – something a range of other motorsport companies tried and failed to achieve. Even Ferrari had a crack with the 575M, though we bet it wished it hadn’t.

Prodrive raced just 10 of these cars, and today, they warrant the recognition they unequivocally deserve. Especially now that the model has received its full Ferrari Classiche Certificate of Authenticity from the factory.

The second 550 Maranello Prodrive constructed in 2002 and the fifth built overall, chassis number CRD05 boasts the distinction of being the most raced example of them all, with 69 starts on its competition résumé between 2003 and 2008. It made its competitive debut in the 2003 12 Hours of Sebring, where it was raced under the Veloqx Prodrive banner by a trio of Brits: Darren Turner, Kelvin Burt and the young Formula 1 prodigy Anthony Davidson.

CRD05 made its public debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2003, scoring an excellent (and very reassuring) second in the GTS class

In the stifling Florida heat and on the treacherously bumpy Sebring International Raceway, the Italo-Anglo Ferrari performed admirably against the might of the factory Chevrolet Corvettes. Third on the GTS grid was converted into a stunning second in class and 13th overall after 12 hours of fierce battle.

Suffice to say, confidence ran high among the Veloqx Prodrive team ahead of chassis CRD05’s next race: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The tried-and-tested driver lineup from Sebring remained unchanged – a decision which bore fruit in qualifying when Turner, Burt and Davidson put the number 80 Ferrari 550 Maranello on the first row of the grid, behind only the sister Veloqx Prodrive entry.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans wasn’t quite as successful as the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2003 for this Ferrari, though the Prodrive outfit was undeterred by the DNF

Unfortunately, CRD05’s race was scuppered when a front-right wheel bearing let go in the early morning. Davidson, who was driving at the time of the failure, had been slowly training in on the leading sister 550 Maranello Prodrive – the car that would ultimately go on to win the GTS race. Regardless of the number 80’s retirement, Prodrive left Le Mans having successfully summitted the tallest peak in endurance motorsport. Unbeknownst to everybody present, the 550 Maranello Prodrive would be the final 12-cylinder Ferrari to triumph at Le Mans.

CRD05 hopped back across the pond for its third and penultimate outing in 2003. Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Georgia. In its fifth year, the traditional American Le Mans Series curtain closer had firmly established itself as one of the United States’ trio of ‘classic’ endurance motor races, joining the Daytona 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

CRD05’s crowning moment came at Road Atlanta in 2003, when it won the GTS category at Petit Le Mans

This time around, this 550 Maranello assumed the number 88 (the Le Mans winner’s number) and, for all intents and purposes, became the lead car in the Prodrive camp. Two of the triumphant Le Mans drivers, Peter Kox and Tomáš Enge, were also earmarked for chassis CRD05.

They were joined for the occasion by the Swiss touring car veteran Alain Menu. If the trio’s qualifying performance was good (third in GTS, if you were wondering) then their race can fairly be described as storming. After 10 hours of strategic racing, they crossed the finish line first in the GTS class, fifth overall, and an amazing nine laps ahead of the first Corvette. For CRD05, Petit Le Mans was nothing short of a masterclass.

For 2004, the running of this Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrive was entrusted by Care Racing Development to Larbre Compétition, the decorated French GT outfit founded by Jack Leconte in 1988. The year was divided across two series: the established FFSA French GT Championship and the inaugural Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES). The latter had been established by the Automobile Club l’Ouest with the aim of rejuvenating endurance racing in Europe.

There were four rounds, each comprising a 1,000-kilometre race: Monza, the Nürburgring, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. An extensive list of privateer and semi-Works teams were attracted to the LMES across the four racing categories – LMP1, LMP2, GTS and GT.

CRD05’s career extended through 2004, 2005 and 2006, the contesting the 24 Hours of Le Mans on two further occasions

Larbre’s main competition in the GTS class was Barron Connor Racing, which was racing the Ferrari 575 GTC – the Prancing Horse’s answer to the 550 Maranello Prodrive. Incredibly, Larbre’s drivers Christophe Bouchut, Pedro Lamy and Steve Zacchia won all four races with CRD05. In short, the 575 GTC didn’t hold a candle to Prodrive’s creation, neither in the LMES nor endurance racing in general.

This Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrive also contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time in 2005, once again under the Larbre Compétition banner and in the hands of Christophe Bouchut, Patrice Goueslard and Olivier Dupard. To maintain its competitiveness against the Corvettes, Prodrive had introduced a number of improvements to the 550 specifically for Le Mans, including a traction control system and a revised aerodynamic package. CRD05 benefitted from these improvements – and they clearly worked. The number 69 Larbre entry finished a very commendable fifth in the GTS class.

Chassis CRD05 chalked up a further 14 events for Larbre Compétition in 2005, divided between the FFSA French GT Championship and the FIA GT Championship. Five podiums and wins at Le Mans (on the Bugatti circuit) and Magny-Cours in the former helped this Ferrari and its drivers Jérôme Policand and Gabriel Balthazard secure second in the championship standings.

At Le Mans, its third and final outing in the French endurance classic, CRD05 scored its best result: fifth in the GT1 class. The Larbre entry was the quickest of the Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrives present, though couldn’t quite match the pace of the newer factory Aston Martin DBR9s.

Two further seasons of the FFSA French GT Championship beckoned for this Ferrari in 2006 and 2007, before a final race in Argentina at the end of 2008. CRD05 enjoyed a long and successful competition career, testament to the raw pace and inherent reliability Prodrive’s designers and engineers were able to unlock from the Ferrari 550 Maranello. Of its 69 races, this chassis finished an astonishing 96 percent of them. The seven race wins, 20 podiums, three pole positions, and Le Mans Endurance Series title make this among the most decorated 550 Maranello Prodrive of the 10 raced in period.

As with all but two of the Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrives built, CRD05 returned to Care Racing Development following its retirement from active competition in 2008. And it remained there until 2016, when Frédéric Dor was persuaded to part with the car – the very first to leave his possession. We had the privilege of selling the car to an American with an extraordinary collection of ultra-significant competition Ferraris, including a 250 LM and a 312 PB. And it was sold on the condition that he would use and share CRD05 on the historic motorsport circuit.

He duly did just that, entrusting the period Care Racing/Larbre Compétition driver Steve Zacchia with racing it in select rounds of the Masters Endurance Legends series in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Zacchia also took the wheel of this 550 Maranello Prodrive at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca in 2019. It’s important to note the eligibility of this Ferrari: the Endurance Racing Legends series from Peter Auto would also welcome the car with open arms, and it is also eligible for Ferrari’s own Club Competizione GT events, held as part of its revered Corse Clienti programme.

Returned to its 2003 Petit Le Mans-winning specification and livery by Venture Engineering, a company formed of a number of ex-Prodrive and Care Racing engineers, chassis number CRD05 is accompanied by a generous history file comprising a wealth of high-quality period imagery, copies of its FIA Gold Book, homologation papers and ACO technical passport. 

Eight years, 343 races, 69 victories, 60 pole positions and 151 podium finishes – the briefest glance at the 550 Maranello Prodrive’s stunning competition record goes some way to explain why it will forever be considered among the greatest GT1 racing cars. And indeed competition Ferraris. This remains the final twelve-cylinder Ferrari to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans! But the magic of this car only begins with the hard statistics.

From an audacious idea kindled in Frédéric Dor’s mind to reality, the story of the Prodrive-built 550 Maranello is a fairytale, studded with awe, intrigue, romance and, of course, success. And chassis CRD05 – the most raced example of them all – played such an integral role. Its historic significance and value simply cannot be underestimated.

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