1959 Ferrari 250 GT Interim Coupe

Just seven of these special Long Wheelbase Berlinettas were built in the spring and summer of 1959. This is the sixth of those cars. They were unofficially called 'Interims' because they were built after Ferrari ceased construction of the 250 GT LWB Berlinetta and before it built the fabled Short Wheelbase Berlinetta. The bodylines of the Interim previewed what was to come with the SWB Berlinetta.

Ferrari 250 GT Interim with chassis number 1521GT is an all-alloy, left-hand drive vehicle and the sixth out of seven constructed. The first owner, Pierre Dumay, took possession of the car in September of 1959. It was entered into the Tour de France in 1959 driven by Dumay and Daboussy and crossed the finish line in seventh place overall. In the following month, the car finished in second overall at the Circuit de Vitessse de Staoueli. The car continued to provide podium finishes for its driver.

The car was sold in 1966 and proved to be fatal ownership for its new owner, as an accident claimed the life of its driver. The car was repaired in 1967 and passed through ownership throughout the years until it was purchased by Karl Dedolph in 1978. Dedolph owned the car for nearly twenty years and entered it in Historic competition. It appeared at the Monterey Historic Races in 1984, 1987, and 1991.

In 2005 the car was given a fresh layer of paint, finished in silver and black. It was displayed at Retromobile in Paris, France in February of 2005. Ownership passed to Lorenzo Zambrano in 2005 and was brought to the 2007 Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach, Florida.

Of the seven 250 GT Interim cars created, Pinin Farina was tasked with creating the coachwork for one of the cars and Scaglietti constructed six more. All sat atop of the long wheelbase chassis but used the short-wheelbase body. This is where the name 'Interim' was formed; it was between the 250 GT SWB and the 250 GT LWB TdF.

The Pinin Farina prototype and a Scaglietti-bodied car appeared at the 24 Hours of LeMans. These Pininfarina versions had a bulge in their bonnet while the others had a blister for ram-air induction. The LeMans entry cars had the more powerful 128DF engines though they were plagued with reliability issues which hindered their true potential.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2007