Details & description
"The Ferrari 458 GT3 proved to be the perfect car for the GT3 class: easy to drive, simplicity of maintenance, and low running cost made it the preferred GT3 vehicle for gentlemen drivers around the world" (Cristiano Michelotto, 2019)
The GT3 class of race cars was conceived for gentlemen drivers. The priority of this project was to keep costs down while ensuring ease of maintenance and drivability. With this in mind, Michelotto engineers took the Ferrari 458 Challenge car and studied ways of boosting its potential and, at the same time, improving its reliability for endurance racing. The aerodynamics were altered to generate more downforce, it was fitted with bigger tires to improve grip, the carbon ceramic brake discs were replaced with cast iron ones and a new electronically actuated sequential gearbox was installed. The result was a slightly heavier and more powerful car than the GT2 but with an engine more akin to the road-going version, to the benefit of less experienced drivers. Indeed, the Ferrari 458 GT3 driven by private drivers has won just about everything, most notably the FIA GT3 already in the first year, 2011, the 24H of Daytona in 2014 and two IMSA Championships. With the Ferrari 458 GT3, Michelotto took its biggest step forward in terms of output, producing on average two custom-built cars a week for a total of 107 units, and also expanded towards new markets such as Asia and Australia. It comes as no surprise that the Ferrari 458 GT3 holds the record for the number of titles won.
This car, chassis F142 GT3 *3610* was produced in December 2014 and was the 3rd last 458 GT3 coming off the assembly line at Michelotto in Padova before this extremely succesful car was replaced by its successor in 2015-2016, the Ferrari 488 GT cars.
In 2015, MOMO as a highly reputated company in the racing world, announced its partnership to become a major partner/sponsor for the US-based Pirelli World Challenge championship. The cars where run by US based team NGT, which launched on internet a competition where enthousiastic fans could enter proposals of livery designs based around MOMO. The winning design resulted in probably the nicest and most sexy looking car in the 458 GT3 history. See it yourself in this MOVIE.
In 2015, this MOMO Ferrari 458 GT3 car was entered in the Pirelli World Challenge. During that season, the car won the series with an impressive 9 wins in 10 races (driver : Henrique Cisneros, owner of the MOMO brand). NGT/MOMO entered next to this red livery *3610* MOMO Ferrari 4598 GT3 also the "chrome colored" Ferrari 458 GT3 with chassis *3236*, driven by the brother Eduardo Cisneros. At Laguna Seca in October 2015, MOMO showed it musscles by entering the *3610" with driver line-up Henrique Cisneros and the sister "chrome" car *3236* with driver line-up Alessandro Balzan and Eduardo Cisneros, taking P2 and P1 in the overall classification. Without question the highest achievements of chassis *3610* and *3236*. Alessandro Pier Guidi is today factory driver for Ferrari in the WEC and has won together with James Callado the 2017 LMGTE Pro class of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship and in 2019 the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a factory supported Ferrari 488 GTE.
During 2016, chassis *3610* had no major racing activities. It was entered - together with its' "chromed" sister car - in the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge championship, where it was no longer competitive against the new generation GT3 cars, including the new Ferrari 488 GT3. Chassis *3610* was retired after the race in Virginia end of April 2017.
Corse E Passione bought the car in 2019. At Michelotto, the car was completely (re)built and restored in 2020, resulting in a latest spec, ready to race and most sexy looking 458 GT3 car ever.