1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Coupe

The Ferrari 250 GT SWB, a car that could be driven and enjoyed both on the road and on the track, was the final evolution of the 'dual purpose' Ferrari. By the close of the 1950s, Ferrari had established itself as a paragon for building the fastest, most exotic and most desirable sports and GT cars of their era. The 'SWB' (short-wheelbase) designation came from a chassis that was 200mm shorter than the standard 250 GT. The first batch of 30-plus SWBs were built to race-winning lightweight Competition specification while the modestly heavier steel-bodied street versions entered production near the end of 1960 with a fully trimmed interior and more luggage space. The Street 250 SWBs accounted for slightly more than 50 percent of the approximately 165 SWB Berlienttas built until production ended in early 1963.

Powering the 250 SWB was the more-powerful Colombo V12 engine fitted with three twin-choke Weber carburetors with outside plugs, coil valve springs and 12-port cylinder heads. The engine was mated to a four-speed gearbox and the top speed was in the neighborhood of 150 mph. At all four corners were Girling disc brakes and the earlier outdated Houdaille lever shocks were replaced by the latest Koni tube shocks and a front anti-sway bar.

This example, chassis number 3735 is the 155th example built. It was delivered by the factory on August 30th of 1962 on Italy export plates EE 02131. It was imported to the United States by Luigi Chinetti Motors, the official Ferrari importer for the US and then on to Charles Rezzaghi, then the Ferrari dealer for the San Francisco area. It spent the first thirty-five years of its life in the US before entering the Alberto Garnerone Collection in Italy in 1997. It has remained in that collection since then.

Currently, the odometer shows 48,925 miles on the odometer.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2014