1958 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Berlinetta

The Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta 'TdF' earned its moniker after Alofonso de Portago's victory in the 1956 Tour de France courtesy of his Ferrari 250 Berlinetta. The 250 GT TdF was such a success that Ferrari ultimately produced another 77 cars in four different series.

This particular TdF is the seventh of the 36 cars from the final series. The distinguishing features of this series are the single louvers over the rear sail panels and the enclosed headlamps. The body was designed by Pinin Farina and built by Scaglietti, with body and interior panels in aluminum. This car's racing record began with its first owner, amateur racer Walter Lambert of Switzerland. He campaigned the car in 22 hill climbs and achieved 18 podium finishes, 13 of them as winner. The car's successes continued with its next owner, Tommy Spychiger, during the 1961 European hill climb season. The car remained in Europe and has been raced competitively by its subsequent owners in a host of historic events. Its current owner bought the car in 2017 and has just had it restored.

This 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France (TdF) is the seventh of 36 examples built with the single-louver style. Approximately 78 examples of these 250 GT Berlinettas were built in four distinct body styles – no-louver, 14-louver, three-louver, and single-louver. Additionally, this TdF is one of the few with a covered-headlight treatment. It was constructed in the spring of 1958 and fitted with a competition-prepared type 128C engine, 8 x 34 final drive ratio, polished Borrani wire wheels, and dark red bodywork. The 2,953cc single overhead camshaft, alloy V-12 engine has three Weber 36 DCL3 carburetors and delivers 240 horsepower at 7,000 RPM. There is a four-speed manual gearbox, hydraulic finned-aluminum drum brakes, and independent front suspension, and a live rear axle.

After completion in May, this Ferrari was sold to Walter Lambert of Grenchen, Switzerland, who raced it in the European Hillclimb Championship and in local competitions, capturing several class and overall wins while participating in at least 20 events through 1960.

Tommy Spychiger of Langenthal, Switzerland, acquired the Ferrari in 1960 and continued to expand upon its competition resume, competing in several European hill climbs during the 1961 season before selling it to Cox Kocher in 1963. It would then pass through several Swiss owners during the 1960s and early 1970s before entering the care of Reinhard Sammueller of Munich, Germany, who kept it for a decade. Mr. Sammueller entered the TdF in several major historical events including the Mille Miglia Storica, Ferrari Days in Modena, and the Ferrari Club Deutschland Meeting.

Swiss Ferrari collector Heinrich Kaempfer acquired 0909 GT in 1986, and kept it for approximately three years before selling it to Dr. Juerg Heer of Zurich. While in his care, it was treated to a restoration by Carrosserie Klaeger.

A German collector named Dieter Holthausen purchased the Ferrari in 1994. Nicolaus Springer was the TdF's next owner, entering it in the 1997 edition of Tour Auto. Swiss collector Carlo Vögele owned and actively campaigned the car in historic racing during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Among the events were Spa Ferrari Days, the Historic Festival at Silverstone, Tour Auto, and numerous Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge Races.

Mr. Vögele had 0909 GT certified by the Ferrari Classiche Department during his ownership. After his ownership, the car passed through a German and then an English owner before entering the care of its current American owner in 2017. Shortly after its acquisition, the car was sent to Motion Products Inc. (MPI) of Neenah, Wisconsin for a complete, ground-up no-expense-spared restoration. Upon completion, the car wore a period-correct color scheme of silver gray with central tricolore (three-colored) stripe. The interior was trimmed in black leather with light gray carpets.

The restoration took two years to complete and it made its restoration debut in August 2019 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It has since received a Platinum Award at Cavallino Classic, Excellence in Class and Finest GT at Classic Sports Sunday at Mar-a-Lago, as well as Best of Show and the Enzo Ferrari Memorial Award at the Ferrari Club of America National Concours. It has also successfully completed the 2019 Colorado Grand.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2023