1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet

Pinin Farina bodied 40 first-series cabriolet examples before the model received a redesign in mid-1959, helping to distinguish it from the California Spider. This Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I by Pinin Farina is one of five examples delivered new with covered headlamps, chrome 410 Superamerica-style fender vents, and bumperettes. It was the 30th example produced adn was dispatched to Pinin Farina for coachwork in May 1958. Upon completion, it wore Nero Tropicale IVI paint over an interior of Rosso VM 3171 Connolly leather and was issued a certificate of origin in August 1958. The car's original custodian was Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata who lent it to the factory for display at the Paris Salon in October 1958.

The Ferrari was exported to the United States sometime during the early 1960s and sold to George Smith of Malibu, California. In the summer of 1964, the engine was removed and sold by Otto Zipper Motors in Los Angeles to David Love of Berkeley, California, who installed the unit in a 250 Testa Rossa (chassis number 0754 TR). A year later Love removed the engine and put it into storage. Around this time, the 250 GT Cabriolet was acquired by Jack Crawford of Long Beach and it would remain in his care for over a decade before selling it in November 1979 to Jim Riff of Barrington, Illinois. The car was then entrusted to kip McCabe's shop in Mundelein, Illinois for a comprehensive two-year restoration. The engine and gearbox were sourced from chassis number 1119. The work was completed in 1982 and it was shown at the Italian Happening at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. The following year, in July 1983, the 250 GT was exhibited at the FCA National Meeting and Concours d'Elegance at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, winning a class award.

In December of 1995, the Ferrari was sold by Riff to a collector in Asia, and a year later (in June 1996), the car's original engine was sourced from David Love, who had stored it for over three decades. After being reunited with its numbers-matching powertrain, 0963 GT was displayed at the FCA Annual Meeting at Watkins Glen, and shortly thereafter the car completed the Colorado Grand.

In 1998, Skip McCabe was retained to conduct a comprehensive restoration, with the final assembly supervised by Butch Dennison. The coachwork received a refinish in black and the interior was re-trimmed with Rosso leather, the original factory color combination. Patrick Ottis rebuilt the engine in 2008.

In 2011, the Ferrari was displayed at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2022