Ferrari 625 New Zealand Tasman
Contrary to his habit, Ferrari built a special racer in 1957 at the request of New Zealander Pat Hoare’s so that he could race it in the Tasman Series in Australia and New Zealand.
This allowed the Ferrari marque to be represented in that championship.
The car consisted of a dated Tipo 500 chassis, a Le Mans engine enlarged from 2.5 to 2.8 litres, and the transmission of a Tipo 555 ‘Super Squalo’ Grand Prix racer. The rear fuel tank came from a Lancia D50, Ferrari having taken over Lancia’s Grand Prix project.
Hoare entered many races in New Zealand with this car but the upgraded four-cylinder often caused problems. He went looking for a V12 but could not find one, so he then contacted the factory which offered him a completely new car. The original 625 New Zealand was sold by Hoare and later became part of the Louwman Museum collection.