1959 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Coupe

This Ferrari with chassis number 1161 GT is the 26th example clothed in the single-vent coachwork style, and the 62nd example built overall. Additionally, it was the final TdF built in 1958.

The engine powering this Ferrari was completed in November 1958 and the chassis was subsequently dispatched to Carrozzeria Scaglietti for the single-panel, aluminum TdF coachwork. It received a shade of dark green to its exterior, with covered headlamps with chromed bezels, full front and rear bumpers, external hood-fastener claws, and unpainted triple-gill fender vents. The interior was given a rollbar and trimmed with tan leather.

Luigi Chinetti Motors took delivery of the 250 GT in March 1959 and soon thereafter it was sold to Bob Grossman, a New York-based privateer racer and dealer. Grossman sold (or lent) the Tour de France to Walter Luftman of New York City who raced it in several events, earning two 1st in the GT Class at Lime Rock, in July and October 1959. Additionally, he campaigned the Ferrari at Montgomery, New York, in August 1959, and finished 2nd at the Long Island Sports Car Association's (LISCA) Interclub Championship event at Bridgehampton in September. Grossman raced the Ferrari in August 1960 at the LISCA's Bridgehampton race.

This Ferrari raced in a dozen races between 1959 and 1960, winning six and finishing in the top three in its class.

Around 1962, the car was sold to Peter Sherman of Maitland, Florida, and in September 1969 it was sold to an Indianapolis-based dealer who sold it to Ken Hutchison of Tower Lake, Illinois. The Ferrari remained with Mr. Hutchison for seventeen years, during which it retained its original green paint.

Bill Jacobs of Illinois acquired the Ferrari in June 1968 and two months later sold it to Yoshiyuki Hayashi of Tokyo, Japan, who commissioned a complete refurbishment by European Auto Restorations in Costa Mesa, California. Upon completion, the car wore a Rosso exterior with a new tan leather interior.

Mr. Terada's Art Sports of Osaka and Tokyo became the vehicle's next caretaker, purchased it in June 1995. The following year, it was traded to fellow Tokyo resident Yoshikuni Okamoto in exchange for a 250 GT Short Wheelbase. In 1997, it was sold to a California-based dealership, which in turn sold the car to noted collector Ed Davies in Florida. While in his care, the car's engine was rebuilt and raced in several vintage events, including the Shell Historic Ferrari Challenges held in conjunction with the 2000 and 2001 Cavallino Classic, and exhibiting it at the Cavallino Classic Concours d'Elegance in January 2000. In August 2000 he raced the TdF again at the Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge at Elkhart Lake, and four years later the car campaigned at the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca.

The current caretaker purchased the Ferrari in August 2005. A high-quality, comprehensive restoration soon commenced with the work entrusted to Motion Products Inc. in Neenah, Wisconsin. Upon completion, it wore a Rosso exterior with a central stripe in French blue, and its interior was re-trimmed with blue leather and fitted with a new rollbar.

Upon completion, the car was shown at the 2006 Amelia Island Concours and the 2007 Cavallino Classic. It was then re-submitted to Motion Products in January 2008 for some corrections, followed by another showing at the Cavallino Classic, this time winning an FCA Silver Award. In July 2010 the car was shown at the Keeneland Concours d'Elegance and in 2013 it was driven in the Colorado Grand.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2022

The 250 TDF is named after the famous race the Tour de France. This race covered 3,345 miles, starting at Nice and ending in Paris, France. Designed by Pinin Faraina, famed designer Scaglietti is credited with the aesthetic appeal that is truly timeless.

The unfortunate crash of Pierre Levegh in the Le Mans 24-Hours of 1955 prompted the F.I.A. to re-write regulations to return endurance racing to dual purpose sports cars capable of road and racing use rather than the Grand Prix based cars that top level world class racing had become. Sports race cars in the mid 1950s were essentially Grand Prix cars cloaked in two-passenger coachwork. Following the tragedy at LeMans in 1955, which killed 80 people, there was a clamor, followed by new regulations, to return to the classic type of sports race car. This was one that could be driven about town and yet be tough and fast enough to be competitive, a truly practical race car.

Enzo Ferrari had been building competition coupes, the Berlinettas, since 1950 with the cars establishing a credible record in international competition. The new GT based regulations favored his 250 GT line of cars that evolved into the Geneva Auto Show display model of March, 1956, a Pinin Farina design that was the forerunner of the Scaglietti cars, Ferrari's official coach builder. The new 250 GT won its first race, Nassau, December 1955, and tallied numerous high finishes prior to the Tour de France of September of 1956.

The Tour included six races held on major racing circuits, two hill climbs, and a drag race. Winning five of the circuit races and first overall in the Tour, along with an astounding number of victories during 1956 and 1957, the long wheelbase Berlientttas became known as the Tour de France line, the classic Ferrari coupe for both road and race use. The 250 designation is due to the displacement of a single cylinder, 250cc, giving the triple Weber equipped V-12 engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo, an Alfa-Romeo engine designer hired away be Ferrari, a capacity of just under 3-liters producing 260 horsepower giving the 2500 lb cars exceptional performance. The coachwork was lightweight aluminum, and the interiors quite stark.

This example, chassis number 1161 GT, is the last of the 1958 Tour de France cars, another race winning Ferrari Competition Belinettas. It has raced at Montgomery Airport, Lime Rock and Bridgehampton.