1960 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé
Coachwork by Pininfarina
Registration no. 662 YUN
Chassis no. 1567GT

By the early 1960s, road car production had ceased to be a sideline for Ferrari and was seen as vitally important to the company's future stability. Thus the 250, Ferrari's first volume-produced model, can be seen as critically important, though production of the first of the line - the 250 Europa, built from 1953 to '54 - amounted to fewer than 20. Before the advent of the Europa, Ferrari had built road-going coupés and convertibles in small numbers, usually to special customer order using a sports-racing chassis as the basis. Ghia and Vignale of Turin, and Touring of Milan were responsible for bodying many of these but there was no attempt at standardisation for series production and no two cars were alike.

The introduction of the 250 Europa heralded a significant change in Ferrari's preferred coachbuilder; whereas previously Vignale had been the most popular carrozzeria among Maranello's customers, from now on Pinin Farina (later 'Pininfarina') would be Ferrari's number one choice, bodying no fewer than 48 out of the 53 Europa/Europa GTs built. Pinin Farina's experiments eventually crystallised in a new Ferrari 250 GT road car that was first displayed publicly at the Geneva Salon in March 1956. However, the Torinese carrozzeria was not yet in a position to cope with the increased workload, resulting in production being entrusted to 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, some 353 of which were built between 1958 and 1960 within the sequence '0841' to '2081'. However, the relatively small scale of production meant that cars could still be ordered with subtle variations according to customer choice, as well as enabling a handful of show cars and 'specials' to be constructed on the 250 GT chassis.

A number of important developments occurred during 250 GT production: the original 128C 3.0-litre engine being superseded by the twin-distributor 128D, which in turn was supplanted in 1960 by the outside-plug 128F engine which did away with its predecessor's Siamesed inlets in favour of six separate ports. On the chassis side, four-wheel disc brakes arrived late in 1959 and a four-speeds-plus-overdrive gearbox the following year, the former at last providing the 250 GT with stopping power to match its speed. More refined and practical than any previous road-going Ferrari, yet retaining the sporting heritage of its predecessors, the 250 GT is a landmark model of immense historical significance. Despite this, original survivors are relatively few, as many have been modified and converted into replicas of more exotic Ferraris such as the 250 GTO, Testarossa, etc.

This example was despatched to the USA in November 1959. Finished in its original colour of Grigio Conchiglia, with tan leather interior, chassis number '1567' is the 19th of 147 Series IIs built. The car has benefited from considerable expenditure in recent years, with various works undertaken by Maranello Rosso of Madrid and Carrosserie
Lecoq of Paris, the latter treating the Ferrari to a bare metal repaint in 2013 costing in excess of €18,000.

In 2014, the engine was completely overhauled by marque specialists Joe Macari Servicing Ltd of London. The motor was rebuilt around a new and correct replacement cylinder block, supplied by Ferrari, while the original cylinder heads, crankshaft, and connecting rods were retained. At the same time, the cylinder heads were modified to accept coil valve springs, replacing the original hairpin type, an arrangement adopted by Ferrari on the 128F version of Colombo's versatile V12. Other works carried out included sourcing a correct set of carburettors (from the USA) and fitting a correct set of Borrani wire wheels shod with new Pirelli Cinturato tyres. The all-important Ferrari Classiche certification was then obtained, the cost of all these works amounting to more than £120,000 (bills on file). A wonderful opportunity to acquire a fine example of this landmark, yet undervalued, Ferrari Gran Turismo that helped cement Maranello's fruitful relationship with Carrozzeria Pininfarina.