1961 Ferrari 250 GT

Sold for $1,842,500 at 2015 Gooding & Company : Pebble Beach Concours.
Sold for $1,490,000 at 2021 RM Sothebys : Amelia Island Auction.
The second generation of Pininfarina-bodied luxury cabriolets on the 250 GT model line was introduced as the 1950s were coming to a close. These grand touring vehicles complemented the company's line of competition-derived 250 California Spyders and were equipped with four-wheel disc brakes and an outside-plug engine. A total of 200 examples of the second-series cabriolets were built and officially designed by the 'GTF' prefix affixed to their chassis plate.

This particular example is the 127th Series Cabriolet produced between 1959 and 1962. It received its Pininfarina coachwork on June 28th of 1961 before returning to Maranello, where it remained until September of that year. It was given Grigio Conchiglia (MM 16.249) over a Pelle Blu (VM 3087) and delivered new to the premises of dealer Vincenzo Malago within Rome. The first recorded owner was Renato Stefani di Canegina of nearby Viterbo. In 1965 the car was sold to its second Italian owner and subsequently exported to the United States where it was noted with a California owner by 1973.

The car was in California for just over a dozen years before it returned to Europe via the Swiss collector and financier Edgard Mannheimer of Zurich. By this point in history, its original colors had been painted over with a red exterior and the interior changed to beige upholstery. Within a year, Mannheimer sold the car to the Belgian tifosi Maurice Harlaux out of Brussels. Harlaux retained the car for several years and showed it several times during his ownership, including in September of 1992 at the FF40 Ferrari Francorchamps International Concours d'Elegance in Brussels. In December 1998, the car was acquired by an individual from the Netherlands, through whom it soon passed to an Italian Ferrari collector.

The car has a period-correct Autovox radio, a trunk-mounted Hirschmann automatic antenna, Michelin Defender tires, and Borrani wire wheels cast in July 1961. The only modern addition was another brake light affixed to the rear bumper.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2021