1959 Ferrari 250 GT

Ferrari launched the 3-liter V12-engined 250 GT series in 1954, marking the end of road car production for Ferrari being just a sideline and was now a vitally important part of the company's future stability. Between 1949 and 1954 no more than 200 touring Ferraris had been manufactured, with thirty-five of these built in 1954. In parallel, during the same period, about 250 competition and sports Ferraris had been completed, with approximately 55 of those built at the Maranello factory in 1954.

The 250 Series were more practical and refined than previous road-going Ferrari vehicles, yet continued to personify the sporting heritage of their predecessors.

By 1964, at the end of the 250 GTs' career, annual production for Ferrari was around the 670 mark, thanks to the popularity, elegance, and performance of the 250 GT. The 250 Series was Ferrari's first volume-production model, beginning with the 250 Europa built from 1953 to 1954 (with fewer than 20 examples built). The 250 Europa's introduction marked a significant change in Ferrari's preferred coachbuilder, with Pinin Farina (later Pininfarina) displacing Vignale as the more popular designer with Maranello's customers.

'True' series production began with the arrival of Pinin Farina's Coupe on the 250GT chassis, 350 of which were built between 1958 and 1960 within the sequence '0841' to '2081'. Although production vehicles, the cars could still be ordered with subtle variations to accommodate customers' requests, and a number of show cars and 'specials' were also built on the 250GT chassis.

During the production lifespan of the 250 GT, a number of development changes occurred, including the original Colombo-designed Tipo 128C 3.0-litre engine being superseded by the twin-distributor 128D, which in turn was supplanted in 1960 by the outside-plug 128F engine which did away with its predecessor's siamesed inlets in favor of six separate ports. This versatile engine - developed from the 1.5-liter unit that powered Ferrari's first-ever sports car (the Tipo 125C) - quickly established a reputation for its performance both on the road and the track.

With triple Weber carburetors installed, the engine offered 240 horsepower, allowing for a top speed of 150 mph, making the 250 GT one of the fastest GT cars on the road at the time. Four-wheel disc brakes became an option in 1959 and a four-speed-plus-overdrive gearbox followed a year later.

Pinin Farina Coupe
The 250 Pinin Farina Coupe made its debut in Milan in 1958. It was a grand touring car with a distinctive style that would mark the face of Ferrari for many years to come. Production would continue until 1960 with Pinin Farina's Grugliasco, Italy plant creating 353 examples of the new series production car. Each example was hand-built and typically pre-sold to well-discerning motor enthusiasts.

The Ferrari 250 GT Coupe was notable for its lengthy hood and cabriolet-with-hardtop side profile. Their short roofs were devoid of rear quarter windows but had a distinctly roadster-like feel on the inside. But these were Grand Tourers and Ferrari included luxurious leather trim, sound-deadening material, and thick carpeting, plus a sophisticated climate control system.

With the 240 horsepower version of the Colombo V12, the engines were essential a detuned version of the race-winning V12 engine found in the company's competition cars. Zero-to-sixty was accomplished in less than seven seconds with top speed being achieved at 141 mph.

Pinin Farina Cabriolet
Between 1956 and 1959, there were forty examples of the Ferrari 250 GT cabriolet built wearing coachwork by Pinin Farina. All of the Series 1 Cabriolets were assembled by Pinin Farina in its custom shop. Each of these cars shared the same basic chassis and styling, but with a unique combination of mechanical specification, exterior detail, overall character, and interior appointments.

Ferrari introduced the Pinin Farina-bodied cabriolet in March of 1957 at the Geneva Motor Show, the Maranello company's first series-produced open-top model. It wore elegant rear haunches, covered headlamps, and a long centrally ventilated bonnet. The first four examples were essentially prototypes that visibly varied, sometimes referred to as the Pinin Farina Spiders, the next thirty-six cars were far more uniform in design.

Both the Series 1 Cabriolet and the Scaglietti-bodied 250 GT LWB California Spider shared a similar design and chassis. The Cabriolet was, however, the most expensive 250 model by a wide margin, and one of the most expensive automobiles of the era that money could buy. Factory literature indicates a list price of $14,950 for a new Cabriolet, $3,000 more than the California Spider and $2,500 more than the 'Tour de France' Berlinetta.

Late-model examples of the Cabriolet wore a full-width bumper, and its flanks were unadorned with vents. Only four examples had the open headlamp treatment, and just two had the tall vertical taillights that were later incorporated into Pinin Farina's 250 GT Coupe and Series II Cabriolet. As few as three and as many as 10 examples were factory equipped with a Lucas starter, generator, voltage regulator, coils, plug wires, and twin rear-mounted distributors. Only one example was equipped with a Lucas parallel wiper system, in lieu of the standard 'clap-hands' system. Some examples had a standard actuating louver system while a few came equipped with a roll-up blind. Later examples of the 250 GT had a more resolved system to raise and lower the radiator blind, including having holes dripped in the pivot pin, thus allowing the cable to pass through and pull up the blind.

Forty examples of the Series I Pinin Farina Cabriolet were built before the model gave way to a mid-1959 redesign that was intended to further differentiate the Cabriolet from the California Spider. Prior to the end of the first-series Cabriolets, the late-production examples received a stronger and much stiffer chassis that simultaneously came into use with the rare competition 250 TdFs. These new chassis were also utilized on the 250 GT LWB California Spiders. Ferrari's V-12 road car chassis was now dubbed the Tipo 508D, succeeding the 508B and 508C.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2019