The Emilia Romagna region of Modena was a melting pot of artisan craftsmen. Generation after generation honed their skills and by the 1950's it was a hot bed of leading coach builders and engineers alike

You could suggest that by the mid sixties Modena was enjoying their "boom" period - racing and road cars were built in proliferation, with one such enterprise being Neri & Bonacini

Very well known in period serving the Ferrari market and often associated with Piero Drogo & Count Volpi's Scuderia Serenissima

It is here that the Nembo's were created (between 1966 - 1968) based upon 250GT chassis's - only 3 were known to have been built, 2 being spyders (both slightly different) and 1 coupe

There was thought to have been another spyder body, which left for Lebanon, of which more has never been seen

On the back of this, prolific collector, racer and general car enthusiast David Barraclough of England, decided to use one of his 250GT's to create his homage for these beautiful open top Ferrari's - so pretty were they, that it is said that the 275GTB Nart Spyder was more than influenced by the Nembo cars

In July 1977 chassis 4773 / GT was purchased from Paris (copies of purchase & importation paperwork still held in the prodigious history folder), which was originally owned by Alain Delon, famous French film star and seemed to be the perfect pairing for the project

Much discussion pursued with specialists, historians & Ferrari Club registrars in France, the UK & the USA too, where the 2 original spyder's were based at that time

After much searching and a trip to California for Laguna Seca & Pebble Beach, by September 1979 detailed photographs had been received of chassis GT1777, the Nembo upon which this Ferrari is based

At the same time, again from the US, specific dimensions of body work had been sent over too..........phew the time and care he took is astonishing

Eventually, and as a result of careful consideration Paul Weldon's team at Church Green Engineering of Dorset were chosen whilst Rosso Ltd, with a young Bob Houghton at the helm, took care of the mechanical aspects of the restoration

Works commenced in 1981 where everything was stripped down and the building process could begin

As you would expect not an item was left untouched, with the bodywork built after creating complete wooden bucks to replicate the fine lines in aluminium (pictures, correspondence, quotes & invoices all on file)

Completion was obviously a very lengthy process, what with many areas requiring minute attention - indeed most items of exterior trim had to hand fabricated, as nothing was available off the shelf........painstaking analysis was required at all points

The engine was moved back 8" in the chassis, for not only was this to be one of the prettiest Ferrari's ever, she was also to be one of the best driving 250 GT's

Once completed she was then sent over to Geoscan, racing car engineers who used their computer to set up the suspension to the finest of limits

In period she was described as follows, "One the road, she is the best 250 GT with a ride like a Jaguar and handling like a Lotus Elan"

The finest of UK artisans and engineers had created a masterpiece, which looked amazing and drove similarly

Used for special occasions, obviously, 4773 GT had amassed a modest mileage by 1989 at which point she was offered to the Haynes Motor Museum where she stayed until at least 1994

Regularly maintained and exercised by that time the mileage since completion was only 6.134

In the late 1990's Mr B had sadly died, so she was sold and spent a brief period of ownership in Cincinnati, USA

In 2001 our third owner, since construction as a Nembo, took over, based again here in the UK

Initially he decided to use the best of the best, Bodylines and Spray-Tech, to take her back to bare metal

He wanted to use a period Ferrari colour, for a road car rather than a race car colour, so Rosso Robino was chosen, and my doesn't she look spectacular - a worthy update for sure

Whist in bare metal he asked Bodylines to remove the bonnet scoop, re-profile the front wings, rear wheel arches and indeed the whole of the body work from the door shuts backwards

Now, whilst the original bodywork was sublime by Church Green, this improvement by Bodylines is much closer to original Nembo shape by the Modenese

Original 'Nembo' badges were added in the correct places (god knows how he managed to get those!!) and a brilliant Modenese style number plate, which looks like a period Italian trade plate (as the original 1777 GT had in period when built) was a superb finishing touch

Upon his completion of these more recent works she has been used for many European Tours with much success (Tour des Alpes etc etc) whilst her turn-key usage is in no part from a lack of maintenance

The dyno sheet from DK Engineering confirms 230.1 hp at a heady 7.000 rpm which came from the freshly rebuilt 3.0 V12 engine

We feel more than proud to have her in our midst and can only confirm that the words below by the renowned journalist Mike McCarthy in 1986, writing for Classic and Sports Car magazine, are indeed spot on

".... the engine singing, its melody rising and falling, in tune with the driver, a touch of the old adrenalins but not too much because this car doesn't frighten, it excites, oh dear Lord, how it excites, there's character here, and breeding, and life's good and heady, and this is what it's all about -"

Just about sums her up and the next owner will be a jolly lucky fellow (or lady........)