• GTO Engineering

Engine blocks and cylinder heads for Ferrari 250GTO

Ferrari is surely the most revered name in motor racing and its 250GTO the most fabled (and valuable) of all its racing cars. At its heart lies a 3-litre, V12 engine designed by the legendary Gioacchino Colombo. The pre-eminent restorers and rebuilders of these classic powertrains is GTO Engineering. And when GTO Engineering wanted a new supplier for engine blocks and cylinder heads, it was to Alcon that it turned.

These major engine parts are used not just for ultra-rare GTOs, but potentially all Ferrari road and racing cars built using an engine that was in production for 20 years from its introduction in 1947. We can, therefore produce the engine in a number of different block and head specifications.

Moreover, while the heads and blocks we make must be indistinguishable to the original on the outside, advances in metallurgy, machining, combustion chamber and component design means we are able to produce parts to a far higher quality than the original, giving not just better performance but increased durability too.

 

When we were first commissioned, we were sent sample heads and blocks on which we completed a full optical scan to provide base data for the outer surfaces. We then used Computed Tomography scans to do the same for the parts of the engine that cannot be seen. This then provides the base data for the component design and is, as such, just the start of the process.

Our engineering teams then take that data and minutely analyse it to see where improvements in quality can be made, so that a more powerful and reliable engine will result. It’s an incredibly skilled job requiring extensive understanding of engine design to extract the absolute most from an older design without compromising its integrity or authenticity. Once we have completed the engineering process the customer will be shown through every stage of our thinking. Once approved we move onto manufacturing.

The actual castings are produced off-site by a long term partner of Alcon, then sent to us for machining and sub-assembly. It is only by using the finest minds, the latest equipment and a knowledge base built up over decades that we are able to supply the most important components of one of the world’s greatest engines to one of the most highly respected restorers and preparers in the business.