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Image Left 1954 250 Europa1956 250 Europa GT Image Right
 

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1955 Ferrari 250 Europa GT news, pictures, and information

Coupe
Designer: Pininfarina
Chassis Num: 0407GT
 
A variety of road and racing cars bore the 250 GT name. They were all built on a tubular-steel chassis. The 250 GT Europa and successor 250 GT Boano/Ellena cars had a wheelbase of 102 inches. The engine was a Colombo-designed three-liter V12, and the transmission was an all-synchromesh four-speed. Top speed was about 130 mph, and the cars were priced at $12,800 in the United States. This 250GT Europa was a special design by coachbuilder Pinin Farina with a flatter ellipse grille and large prancing horse in the center. The tips of the fenders were also pulled out and elliptical taillights were vertically mounted. This car was found in a garage in Burbank, CA, where it had been covered and unused for 30 years.

Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupe with chassis number 0407GT is a Series 2 Pininfarina creation built with left-hand drive configuration. It has had only a few owners since new and has recently been shown at the 2007 Cavallino Classic. It is a two-door coupe finished in silver metallic with a red leather interior.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2010
Coupe
Designer: Pininfarina
Chassis Num: 0397 GT
 
This Ferrari 250 Europa GT with chassis number 0397GT is a left hand drive, Series 2 Coupe with coachwork by Pininfarina. It was created in July of 1955 and its first owner, Dr. N. Gotelli of Italy, took possession during that same year. By the mid-1990s the car was in the ownership of a California resident and in 1999 it was moved to Illinois with its current owner took possession of this magnificent automobile. It is seen here at the 2008 Cavallino Classic.

Ferrari chassis 0397-GT was delivered to Pininfarina on July 6th of 1955, and the completed car was sold to Dr. Natale Gotella of Genoa. The car eventually found its way to Southern California in the late 1950s, and endured a rather destructive sojourn at the hands of a Chinese restaurant owner's son, who drag-raced it. The current owner bought it in late 1959, in rather derelict shape, got it spruced up and running, and drove it in Los Angeles for two years. When he moved overseas, he sold the car to an enthusiast who disassembled it hoping to eventually restore it. It languished in their shop and then in a dirt-floored garage under a leaky toilet for 35 years. The current owner recovered the car from their estate in the late 90s and put it through a complete restoration.
Coupe
Designer: Pininfarina
Chassis Num: 0419 GT
 
Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupe with coachwork by Pininfarina was a display car at the 1956 Brussels Motor Show. The original owner was Garage Francorchamps in Belgium and later raced by Olivier Gendebien, Jacques Swaters and Leon Dernier.

In 2007 the car was sold to a United States collector who commissioned a complete restoration. Upon completion the car was on display at the 2009 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where it was awarded with the 'Trofeo BMW Group Classic' for having the best restoration.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2012
Coupe
Designer: Pininfarina
Chassis Num: 0405 GT
Engine Num: 1585 GT
 
Sold for $797,500 at 2012 Gooding & Company.
Chassis number 0405 GT is a late-production Europa GT which originally incorporated the sought-after coil-spring front suspension, which replaced the transverse leaf-spring arrangement during its limited production run.

Carrozzeria Pinin Farina of Torino was tasked with creating the body for this vehicle in the Summer of 1955. It was virtually identical to the Pinin Farina-bodied 375 Americas and similar in many ways to the earliest Tour de France berlinettas. Upon completion, it was finished in a light gray known as Grigio Max Meyer and upholstered in orange Connolly hides. The car left the factory on August 2nd of 1955 and was equipped with Marchal lamps and white-lettered Englebert tires.

0405 GT was displayed at the 42nd Annual Paris Motor Show in mid-October on the show stand of French Ferrari importer Paul Vallee. After the show, the car returned to Modena. On December 5th, the car was sold to its first owner S.A.I.P.A. for the price of 3,000,000 Italian Lire. During its early years, it was registered in Modena.

By late 1956, the Europa GT had been exported to the United States and into the care of David Leopold of New York. Unfortunately, the cooling system had no anti-freeze and endured a session of freezing weather that cracked the original cylinder heads. This problem was fixed with a new Type 128 cylinder head featuring the improved siamesed intakeports.

A short time later, the car was sold to Bendix engineer Giltner Knudson. After Mr. Knudson moved to California in the early 1960s, he brought the former Paris show car with him. In 1964, he advertised the car for sale in the pages of Road & Track magazine.

Charles Betz became the vehicle's next owner. M0.r Betz retained the car for several years and displayed it at the 1966 Vista del Mar Concours in Los Angeles. The car was traded in 1967 for a 300 SL Roadster, only to take it back as part of a trade a few years and several owners later.

By the mid-1970s, the car was in Stamping Grounds, Kentucky, where it was in the care of Rudd Brown. In August 1975, Thomas Churchill of Yellow Springs, Ohio, acquired the car, and during the 1980s, Paul Hackman of Columbus is recorded as the owner. At some point while it in the Midwest, the original engine was replaced with a later outside-plug unit sourced from 1585 GT, a 1959 PF Coupe.

Paul Forbes returned the Ferrari to California during the 1990s and stored it in Costa Mesa for many years. In 1999, the Ferrari was sold to Stephen Block, a Bay Area enthusiast who planned to restore it. A short time after acquiring the car, Mr. Block found one of the two alloy-bodied Europa GTs, 0389 GT, and purchased it to restore.

The next owner was Sam Mann, who entrusted Rudi Konizcek of Vancouver, British Columbia, to perform a thorough cosmetic restoration. The car was stripped to bare metal and was found to be in excellent condition throughout. The car was finished in Mercedes-Benz dark blue (DB 904) and upholstered in rich tan leather. Original features such as the factory-supplied trunk carpeting were retained wherever possible.

The car currently displays 91,311 kilometers, a figure that is believed to represent the original mileage from new. The engine is a 60-degree V12 engine fitted with Three Weber Twin-Choke carburetors offering 240 horsepower. There is a four-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drum brakes.

In 2012, this car was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona. It had a pre-auction estimated value of $750,000 - $900,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $797,500 inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2012
Coupe
Designer: Pininfarina
Chassis Num: 0391 GT
 
Sold for $752,406 (€582,400) at 2012 RM Auctions.
There were 18 examples of the first-generation Europa built, followed by a second series introduced in late 1954, named the Europa GT. The most notable change was a new Colombo V-12 engine that brought 20 additional horsepower over the original Lampredi unit. The engine became the workhorse engine for the remaining 250 GT iterations. In total, there were roughly 34 examples of the Europa GT produced.

This Europa GT was sent to Pinin Farina for coachwork on June 17th of 1955. After the work was completed, the car was delivered to Pietro Barilla, the heir to the Barilla pasta conglomerate in Parma, Italy. It is believed that just after a year in Mr. Barilla's possession, this Europa was returned to the factory, and Mr. Barilla took delivery of another Ferrari, a 410 Superamerica, with chassis number 0495SA. The original engine from 0391GT was then removed and installed in chassis number 0357GT, the very first Europa GT, which was being race-campaigned by Jacque Swaters's Ecurie Francorchamps.

0391GT was imported to the United States for sale by Luigi Chinetti by the early 1960s. It was shortly thereafter purchased by King Sims of Atlanta, Georgia. A Seattle-based collector owned the car during the 1970s and by 1972, the car was fitted with a proper replacement engine, a 2,953 cc Colombo V-12 motor sourced from 0727GT, an early Ellena-bodied 250 GT produced in 1957.

During the 1980s, the car was in California ownership. The car was sold in November of 1988 to Dr. Heiner Oettli, a dentist residing in Niederrohrdorf, Switzerland. Two years later, 0391GT was acquired by Sportgarage's Bruno Wyss, an official Ferrari dealer in Zofingen, Switzerland. In 1998, it was sold to fellow Swiss citizen Christophe Ringier, who commissioned a full restoration.

The car was refinished in its original livery of Grigio Fiat paint with a Panno Grigio interior and blue leather sides. Upon completion, the car was exhibited at the 2002 Concorso d'Elegance Villa d'Este, winning the Trofeo Pininfarina for the most significant Pinin Farina body. 0391GT was also depicted in the June 2002 issue of Auto D'Epoca magazine and was further exhibited at the 2004 Retromobile exhibition in Paris.

In 2012, the car was offered for sale at RM Auctions in Monaco where it was estimated to sell for €520.000-€580.000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of €582.400, inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2012
Coupe
Designer: Pininfarina
Chassis Num: 0405 GT
Engine Num: 1585 GT
 
Sold for $797,500 at 2012 Gooding & Company.
This 1955 Ferrari Europa GT #0405 was displayed at the 42nd Paris Motor Show by French Ferrari Importer Paul Vallee. It is one of 34 GTs produced and is a late production car with the highly sought after coil spring front suspension. #0405 was first registered in Modena and has a full ownership history.

It was imported to the United States in 1956 and passed through several well-known owners including Bendix engineer Giltner Knudson and also Charles Betz and Fred Peters who have owned the car on several occasions.

Sam Mann acquired #0405 in the early 2000s and had a full restoration performed by Rudi Konizcek of Vancouver British Columbia. The car still retains its original glass and trunk carpet.

The odometer currently displays 91,000 km which is believed to represent the original mileage from new.
Production of the 250 Series began in 1954 and continued on through the early part of the 1960's. There were numerous variations of the 250 and would ultimately become Ferrari's most successful line of vehicles to date. The 250 is also recognized as the first Ferrari to ever receive disc brakes. This did not take place until the end of the 1950's. Also, the 250 was the first four-seater.

Ferrari's were custom built cars. They were not mass-produced. Ferrari provided the engine and chassis while Italian coach builders provided the body. This meant the specifications varied. Engines also varied in horsepower rating, torque, and displacement. This was no different for the 250 GT which saw many different variations in body style and body types.

Ferrari built the road-going Ferrari's to fuel his passion for racing. Many of the vehicles he built for the road had a competition model. That is, a modified version of the road-going model. An example of this was the 1959 short-wheel base (SWB) Berlinetta (Berlinetta which means coupe) and given an aluminum body. It was debuted in October 1959 at the Paris Salon. GT cars were road-legal vehicles that could also be taken to the track and compete without the need for modifications. Although this was their purpose, Ferrari realized that many customers would not race their vehicle, but rather wanted the power and performance that sports cars offered. To comply, Ferrari built these cars to be powerful and luxurious. The vehicles could still be run on the track, mostly on requiring the adoption of stickers and complying with any safety requirements.

The 250 road-going vehicles mostly shared two wheelbase sizes, a 2400 mm and 2600 mm. The 2400 wheelbase were referred to as the SWB (Short wheel base) while the other was the LWB (long wheel base).

The base engine was a Colombo 60-degree, single-over-head cam, 'vee' type 12-cylinder, with aluminum alloy block and heads, and cast-iron cylinder liners. The displacement was 180 cubic inch (2953 cc). Horsepower production was around 220-260. The front suspension was independent with double wishbones and coil springs. The rear suspension was a live axle.

The first 250 introduced was the 250S and available in either berlinetta or spider configuration. Introduced in 1952, they were powered by a 3-liter Colombo engine producing about 230 horsepower.

At the 1953 Paris Motor Show, Ferrari introduced the 250 Europa and Export. These were the only models in the series that were powered by a Lampredi v-12 engine also seen in Formula 1. The 250 Export had a 2400 MM wheelbase, similar tot he 250 MM. The 250 Europa had a larger, 2800 mm wheelbase which allowed more interior room. During their short production lifespan, only 18 examples were produced. Pininfarina and Vignale were tasked with creating the coachwork.

In 1954 four specialty built 250 Monza were built for racing. They shared many similarities with the 750 Monza's, but were equipped with the 3-liter Colombo engine.

At the 1957 Geneva auto show, Ferrari displayed their 250 GT Cabriolet. Coachwork was courtesy of Pininfarina; the wheelbase was 2600 mm in size. In 1959 the second in the 250 GT Cabriolet series production began after only 36 examples being produced.

From 1957 through 1959 Ferrari produced the 250 GT Berlinetta 'Tour de France' (TdF). The name had been given for the 10-day automobile race. Originally the engine produced 240 horsepower but was later modified to 260 horsepower. Carrozzeria Scaglietti was responsible for creating the bodies based on Pinin Farina's design.

Scaglietti was responsible for constructing the 1957 250 GT California Spyder. These sat atop a long, 2600 mm chassis and aluminum was used throughout the body in efforts to reduce the overall weight. In total, around 45 examples were created before they were replaced by the SWB version in 1960.

There were 250 examples of the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB produced. Production began in 1959 and used the shortened, sportier wheelbase. Giotto Bizzarrini, Carlo Chiti, and Mauro Forghieri were responsible for the development. Some were built for racing while others were meant for daily transportation. Horsepower ranged from 240 to 280. Steel or aluminum bodies were used. The steel bodies were suited for the road-going vehicles, also known as Lusso. The racing trim vehicles were powerful and had low weight. They were vary competitive and are regarded as the most important GT racers of its time. In 1961 the SWB Berlinetta captured the GT class of the Constructor's Championship.

In 1960 a Scaglietti 250 GT Spyder California SWB was shown at the Geneva Motor Show. Built as a replacement for the LWB and based on the 250 GT SWB, around 55 examples were produced.

The Ferrari 250TR was produced from 1957 through 1958 during which only 19 examples were created. The 'pontoon' fender body was designed by Scaglietti and the power was supplied through a Colombo 12-cylinder engine mounted at a sixty-degree angle and outfitted with six Weber 38 DCN carburetors. Power was sent to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox. With 300 horsepower, the 800 kg vehicle was able to achieve a 168 mph top speed. From 1958 through 1961, the 250 TR was entered in 19 championship races where they emerged victorious ten times.

The 250 in 250 TR represented the unitary displacement while the TR was an acronym meaning Testa Rossa. Testa Rossa translates to 'red head' which referred to the color of the engine's cylinder head.

The 250 TR series was built to capture the world championship which was experience questionable times. During the 1955 24 Hours of Lemans a fatal accident occurred and the Commissione Sportiva Internazionale (CSI) began investigating ways to make the sport safer for the drivers and the spectators. Their efforts were escalated in 1967 when another fatal accident occurred at the 1957 Mille Miglia. The committee decided upon a displacement limit but they were in disagreement on the size; the proposed figures ranged from 3 to around 3.5 liters.

1958 was the introductory year for the new regulations, which had been announced during the later part of 1957. Ferrari had been building, testing, and racing the 250 GT which had performed well during the 1957 Mille Miglia. The Colombo V12 260 horsepower engine received a larger bore, camshaft, and other improvements resulting in a 3.1 liter displacement and 320 horsepower. Testing continued throughout the 1957 season in both body configuration and mechanical components.

Ferrari had anticipated the new engine size regulations and thus had been sufficiently prepared to capture the world championship. Due to the potential of negative publicity caused by the fatal accidents, other manufacturers, such as Aston Martin, Lotus, Cooper and Jaguar, were hesitant to continue racing. Ferrari believed their closest competitor would be the powerful and technologically advanced Maserati 450 S which featured a quad-cam eight-cylinder engine.

Ferrari quickly began capturing victories during the 1958 season. The 250 TR was a solid vehicle thanks to the preparation and testing. The steel tubular ladder frame was of traditional Ferrari construction; a DeDion rear axle was used on the works racers. Customer cars were outfitted with a live axle. Drum brakes were placed on all four corners of the car. The engine had been modified to comply with regulations and to fit in the engine bay. In reality, the vehicle was an outdated car having only the benefit of proper planning and proven technology. Most cars featured disc brakes which provided superior stopping power. The Colombo engine dated back to the beginning of Ferrari and was antiquated in comparison to the modern power-plants.

Nearing the close of the 1958 season, the competition began to rise. Aston Martin had a lethal combination, a 3 liter DBR1 racer and Stirling Moss as the driver. Even though the Aston Martins did score a victory at Nurburgring 1000 KM, Ferrari was able to capture the World Championship. The legendary Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien easily capture a third victory for Ferrari at the grueling 24 Hours of Lemans. The 250 TR works cars were referred to as TR58, to distinguish them from the customer TRs.

For the 1959 season, the vehicles received slight modifications which made the vehicle lighter and more powerful. The big news was the use of Dunlop disc brakes. The engine received coil valve springs and the horsepower increased slightly to 306. A Colotti designed five speed gearbox replaced the four-speed unit. Pininfarina was tasked with designing a new body and the construction was handled by Fantuzzi. As a result of the improvements, the name was changed to TR59. At their inaugural race, the TR59 finished first and second. This streak did not last and at the end of the season, it was Aston Martin who emerged as the world champion. The TR59 was plagued with reliability issues mostly due to the gearbox. The vehicles were forced to retire early from races, including Le Mans.

For the 1960 season, the TR was modified slightly to comply with new regulations and to rectify the transmission issues. These vehicles are commonly referred to as the TR59/60. Aston Martin had withdrawn from the championship which left no factory opposition for Ferrari. Porsche and Maserati provided competition, especially at Targa Florio and the Nurburgring 1000 km where they scored victories. At Le Mans, Ferrari finished first and second and captured the word championship, beating Porsche by only four points.

For the 1961 season, Ferrari introduced the mid-engined 246 SP. The TRI61 was given a new spaceframe chassis and was able to capture victories at Sebring 12 Hours and Le Mans. With victories between the 246 SP and the TRI61, Ferrari once again captured the world championship.

The CSI implemented stricter rules for the 1962 season which meant the TR was unable to score points for the factory. It was still allowed to race for the overall victory.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2007
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Arrow Right 1955 Ferrari models
Ferrari 121 LM
Ferrari 250 Europa GT TdF
Ferrari 250 GT Boano
Ferrari 375 America Speciale
Ferrari 375 MM Speciale
Ferrari 375 Plus
Ferrari 410 S
Ferrari 410 Superamerica
Ferrari 500 Mondial
Ferrari 750 Monza
Ferrari 857 Sport

Similar Automakers
Aston MartinBentley
BugattiDevon
GTAKoenigsegg
LamborghiniLotus
MaseratiMaybach
McLarenPorsche
Rolls-RoyceSpyker
Tesla
Similarly Sized Vehicles from 1955
AC Ace
Aston Martin DB 2/4
Austin-Healey 100
Austin-Healey 100M
Austin-Healey 100S
Ferrari 250 Europa GT TdF
Maserati A6G/54 2000
MG TF 1500
Panhard Dyna Junior

Similarly Priced Vehicles from 1955
Ferrari 250 Europa GT TdF ($13,895-$13,895)

Average Auction Sale: $689,950

 
Ferrari: 1951-1960
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156
166
166 F2
195
196
212
246
250 GT
250 Monza
250 Testarossa
275
288
308
312
328
330
333 SP
335
342 America
348
360
365
375
400
410
410 S
456
458
500 F2
500 Superfast
500 TR
512
512 BB/LM
550
553
575
599
612 Scaglietti
625
California
Dino
Enzo
F12berlinetta
F355
F40
F430
F430 GTC
F50
FF
LaFerrari
Mondial
Mondial 500
Testarossa
Type 340

Image Left 1954 250 Europa1956 250 Europa GT Image Right
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