1962 Ferrari 250 GTE Series II 2+2 Coupé
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Pininfarina
Registration no. Not registered in the UK
Chassis no. 3429 GT
Engine no. 3429 GT

The 3-litre V12-engined Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 – as offered here - was developed amidst great secrecy by Ferrari and Pininfarina during 1959. Their objective was to produce a useable four-seat high-performance Coupé in the Ferrari tradition, apart from being restricted to only two seats – as had all series-production Maranello models built to that date.

But as Ferrari historian Antoine Prunet has debated in his book 'Ferrari – The Road Cars' (EPA, Paris, and G.T.Foulis, 1987) "Several questions had to be resolved for the new vehicle. Could a true Gran Turismo automobile be other than a two-place car? In the case of the 250 GT in particular, would it not be too daring to attempt to reconcile the problems for a satisfactory habitation for four people with the 2.60 metre wheelbase chassis and the lengthy 12-cylinder engine? Would not the basic nature of the ensemble be altered in appearance? Would not a grave imbalance be created that would injure both the car's performance and its aesthetics?... suddenly in 1960 the concept became reality and very quickly became a great success".

The secret new four-seat Ferrari was unveiled to a stunned press and public alike at the 1960 Le Mans 24-Hour race meeting, one of the new cars being loaned to the Automobile Club de l'Ouest for use as the Course Car.

To achieve the required extra cabin space without lengthening the proven chassis' 2.60-metre wheelbase, the V12 engine had been moved forward 20cm – 8-inches – within the frame. Two supplementary seats were then worked into the extra cabin space.Overall the new 2+2 was 305mm longer than the corresponding 250GT Coupé, 60mm wider but notably 56mm lower in roof height, which augmented the finished body's elegant and graceful proportion to the casual eye.

The power unit was similar to that in the Pininfarina Cabriolet with latest-design Testa Rossa-derived cylinder heads with 'outside' spark plugs and with coil-type valve springs. Induction was via three Weber 40DCL/6 carburettors, and the engine delivered a lusty 240bhp at 7,000rpm. This unit drove through a four-speed gearbox with overdrive on top, as used in the parallel Cabriolet.

This new Ferrari for the aspiring young businessman with a young family scored immediate success, both in terms of media reception and public acclaim and custom. A road test by the French journal 'Moteurs' in 1961 saw professional driver/tester Alain Bertaut lap the Montlhéry road circuit outside Paris in a 250 GTE at an average of 121.786km/h – 75mph – his best-ever time in a Gran Turismo car. He declared: "The behavior of the car, under the extreme circumstances imposed while posting a fast lap of the Montlhéry circuit, was astonishing...".

This fine example of the 250 GTE – chassis number '3429 GT' – was the 120th GTE Series II to be built and the 421st of the total of 954 GTEs built overall. It was sold new to its first owner, a Signor Meloin of Ancona, Italy, in April 1962, and it was first registered on April 27 that year under the Ancona plate 'AN 45000'. On April 6, 1964, it is recorded as having been serviced at the Ferrari factory Assistenza Clienti centre at Viale Trento Trieste, Modena, to factory order No 134. Its factory delivery note that day was No 2665, and its odometer reading is recorded as then having been 35,236kms.

In November 1975 it passed to an un-named owner in Rome, and was locally registered there 'ROMA B33632'. Official documents surviving with the car show that it was then sold on November 22, 1967 to Silvano Sarti of Bologna for Lire 1,400,000. The Carta di Circolazione per Autovettura also preserved within the associated documentation file cites Silvano Sarti as the owner as late as August 27, 1975, when the car was re-registered in Bologna as 'BO 632649'. The car was acquired by Fabrizio Violati in the later 1970s, and it has since been
preserved within the exhibition halls he established in San Marino.

As offered here this very well preserved and discreetly handsome and well-proportioned 250 GTE is largely original – apart most notably from its re-upholstered black leather seats. Its headlining is slightly damaged, but the probably genuine odometer reading is only 88,000kms, the car features its original model engine, its chassis and engine number stampings are matching and the number strikes are absolutely correct in proper period Ferrari factory fonts. The engine block Numero Interno is also absolutely correct, as is the car's bulkhead data plate, and the three-carburettor Weber assembly.

These four-seat Ferraris were very successful and extremely highly regarded in period. Today they offer collectors an immensely practical, useable – and, in classic Ferrari terms, affordable – investment. We obviously recommend expert technical examination and recommissioning before the car is used in earnest, since it has been on static Museum display for so many years, but this is one of the finest and most attractive examples of the 250 GTE 2+2 that we
at Bonhams have ever had the pleasure of offering and merits the closest consideration.

Please note this vehicle is subject to import tax should it remain in the EU.