Lot 250: 1959 Ferrari 250 GT by Pininfarina

By the late 1950s Enzo Ferrari had been producing limited edition road cars for nearly ten years, but was still concentrating mainly on competition models of various types. What he now needed, especially since Maserati had just introduced their first road car destined for 'full-scale' production, was a car that could be built in larger numbers and to a more uniform design. The 250 series of cars, which had begun with the 250 Europa GT back in 1954, provided the basis for this new model. Thus the new 250GT coupe was born in mid-1958. Its body was designed by Pininfarina and was very similar in appearance to the 250GT convertible introduced the year before, with the obvious exception of the fixed roof. The new coupe was the epitome of understated elegance and power, and its design has hence stood the test of time far better than some of its quirkier relatives. Nonetheless, even on the final production coupe individual variations were possible and indeed encouraged. One can almost always find small differences between cars, proof that Ferrari's idea of what constituted series production was rather more 'made-to-order' than most people's. The 250GT Pininfarina coupe, as it was fully titled, featured the classic Colombo 60 V12 engine displacing 2953 c.c. and developing 240 b.h.p. at 7,000 r.p.m. The early cars had a single distributor, which proved troublesome, and were retrofitted with two distributors at factory expense in most cases. The 128F engine was soon adopted with outside spark plugs and a new 4-speed gearbox using an electrically activated 5th speed overdrive. By early 1959 most of the cars in this group were fitted with disc brakes as standard. Another improvement came in 1960 with the adoption of front and rear telescopic shock absorbers in place of the lever type previously employed. Borrani wire wheels were fitted to all the cars. The 250GT Pininfarina coupe was a great success for Ferrari, and 350 were built before production ceased in Autumn 1960 at chassis no. 2081 GT. From then on Ferrari concentrated on the 250GT SWB as its mainstay fixed-head two-seater.On offer today is the most stunning example from this most prestigious of styling houses. Finished in a lustrous grey with contrasting red leather interior. The engine bay is meticulously presented, the long legs of this grand tourer accentuated by the triple twin choke carburettors and twin coils. This is one of the most desirable Ferrari's currently on the market. Please note at the time of going to press, full details were not available. Full information will be available at the auction or please contact the auction department.Sicherlich eine der elegantesten Kollaborationen zwischen dem meisterhaften Designschmiede Pininfarina und Ferrari war der 250 GT Pininfarina. Die dunkelgraue Lackierung mit dunkelrotem Lederinterieur passt aussergewhnlich gut zur imposanten Erscheining dieses schnellen Reisewagens, dessen Motorraum sowohl technisch als auch optisch ein wahrer Leckerbissen ist. Leider standen zum Katalogschluss keine weiteren Details zum Ferrari zur Verfgung, diese werden jedoch rechtzeitig zur Auktion nachgeliefert.