Description
By the early 250s, road car production was no longer a sideline for Ferrari and was considered vital to the company's future stability. The 250, Ferrari's first series-production model, can thus be considered of crucial importance, although production of the first of the line - the 1953 Europa, built from 54 to '20 - was less than XNUMX. , Ferrari had built road-going coupes and convertibles in small numbers, usually to special customer orders, based on a sports racing chassis. Ghia and Vignale of Turin and Touring of Milan were responsible for the bodywork of many of these, but there was no attempt at standardization for series production and no two cars were the same.
The introduction of the 250 Europa heralded an important change at Ferrari's favorite coachbuilder; While previously Vignale was the most popular carrozzeria among Maranello customers, from now on Pinin Farina (later 'Pininfarina') would be Ferrari's first choice, with no fewer than 48 of the 53 Europa / Europa GTs built. Pinin Farina's experiments were eventually crystallized in a new Ferrari 250 GT road car that was first publicly shown at the Geneva Salon in March 1956. However, the Torinese carrozzeria was not yet able to cope with the increased workload of Carrozzeria Boano after Pinin Farina had completed a handful of prototypes.
True series production began with the arrival of Pininfarina's 'notchback' coupé on the 250 GT chassis, with some 1958 being built between 1960 and 353 in the sequence '0841' to '2081'. However, the relatively small production scale meant that cars could still be ordered with subtle variations according to customer choice, and a handful of show cars and 'specials' could also be built on the 250 GT chassis.
A number of important developments occurred during the production of the 250 GT: On the chassis side, four-wheel disc brakes were introduced in late 1959, and the following year a four-speed gearbox plus overdrive, the former finally giving the 250 GT braking power to match its speed . The 250 GT is more refined and practical than any previous road Ferrari, yet retains the sporting heritage of its predecessors. It is a landmark model with enormous historical significance. Despite this, there are relatively few original survivors, as many have been modified and converted into replicas of more exotic Ferraris such as the 250 GTO, Testarossa, etc.
This example was shipped to the US in November 1959. Finished in the original color of Grigio Conchiglia with a beige leather interior, chassis number '1567' is the 19th of 147 Series IIs built. The car has undergone significant improvements in recent years, with several works carried out by Maranello Rosso of Madrid and Carrosserie
Lecoq from Paris, the latter having treated the Ferrari in 2013 with a bare metal paint job that cost more than €18.000.
In 2014 the engine was completely overhauled by brand specialist Joe Macari Servicing Ltd from London. The engine was rebuilt around a new and correct replacement cylinder block supplied by Ferrari, whilst retaining the original cylinder heads, crankshaft and connecting rods. At the same time, the cylinder heads were modified with coil valve springs, replacing the original hairpin type, an arrangement adopted by Ferrari on the 128F version of Colombo's versatile V12. Other work carried out included purchasing a correct set of carburettors (from the US) and fitting a correct set of Borrani wire wheels with new Pirelli Cinturato tyres. The all-important Ferrari Classiche certification was subsequently obtained and the cost of all this work was in excess of £120.000 (bills on file). A beautiful example of this historic, but undervalued Ferrari.
