Miguel Sánchez
Although it may seem contradictory, many times the most difficult thing is not to stand out. Thus, many cars have sober, proportionate and useful designs for their use. Characteristics that, even making them something frankly successful, condemn them to go unnoticed in day-to-day traffic.
However, other models opt for groundbreaking and differentiating aesthetics. A risky terrain where, more often than not, surprise meets obvious bad taste. Nevertheless, This should not lead us to condemn these initiatives. Not in vain, some of these vehicles are still as surprising as they are remembered in the imaginary of the motor.
Something in which the designer Franco Sbarro has become a specialist. And it is that, after all, from the sixties to the present he has presented some of the most striking -and ineffective- concepts in the entire history of motorsports.
A way of working as original as debatable. In which the wheels of a Jumbo 747 applied to the chassis of a Range Rover with a Mercedes V8 engine stand out, compact equipped with two Kawasaki motorcycle engines and even some vehicles with six wheels and room for a piano, literally.
In short, while a multitude of designers opted for the study of shapes and adaptation, Franco Sbarro decided to attract attention with creations in a short series without sense or aesthetics.
But he succeeded. In fact, his name is known thanks to the eccentricity of creations such as the open-air Renault Espace or a Citroën Picasso with gull-wing doors. Also, from his workshop in Grandson Many replicas and recreations have come out. In this sense, its Turbot Rhino 1 draws attention. It translates into a real model the car imagined in the cartoons of the popular Spirou comic.
Likewise, displaying an evident restraint, Franco Sbarro launched in 1979 his Ferrari MM 250 in a short series of seven units. Inspired by the open-bodied models exhibited at the World Cup of Makes during the fifties, this took the Pininfarina-designed 400 GT as a donor in 1976. In short, without a doubt a controversial creation due to the sacrifice it entails. Even more so to reach something questionable in many respects. And go. Even so, in a strange way, it has a certain capacity for attraction.
FERRARI 250 MM SBARRO, ON THE ROAD WITH THE RECREATIONS
In the world of classics, replicas have an interesting market niche. Proof of this is what was done in Argentina by Pur Sang. The factory that, each year, produces about 25 replicas of the Bugatti Type 35 with notable commercial and media success. Also, this type of business is by no means new. In fact, already in 1965 Alfa Romeo itself marketed, in collaboration with Zagato, replicas of the 6C 1750 using the mechanics of a Giulia TI on a newly made chassis.
Undoubtedly, a curious case in which, to this day, the replica itself is already a vehicle with historical interest in itself. Thus, it was not strange to see this so-called Ferrari 250 MM appear in the seventies. yes, here we have to make many considerations. To begin with, the name used refers to a horse that is especially notorious in racing and, at the time, seen under different lines, both open and closed.
In this sense, the creation of Sbarro could be the replica of a specific barchetta unit. But it really isn't. In fact, searching the photographic archives of the 250 MM we only found one unit in which to glimpse details similar to those presented by this recreation. Furthermore, and as in other Sbarro replicas like the one made from the Mercedes 540-K, from the volumes to a multitude of elements such as the wheels, a not very accurate final finish is evident. Of course, it has the undoubted charm of a recreation.
Likewise, one of the most contentious issues behind the Ferrari 250 MM Sbarro is the use of a 400 GT as a donor. Of those, just released on the market with a 12-liter V4.8, three double-body carburettors and 340 hp. All this under a body made by Pininfarina in which, over time, the straight lines of this 2+2 have been gaining in reputation within the hobby of the brand. In short, as always Sbarro can be judged from different angles, each one more controversial. However, he always achieves his goal: to stand out.
Photos: Sbarro / Ferrari / Speed 8 Classics
