Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta, 1958
Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta
Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta•
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Chassis No.: 0817GT
£514,166 GBP | Sold
- Coachwork by
- Carrozzeria
- Ellena
- Registration no. 635 XUM
- One of only 50 Ellena-bodied 250 GTs built
- Delivered new in Italy
- Formerly part of the Tunick Collection in the USA
- Fully restored by DK Engineering 2005-2008
- Engine original to chassis
- Ferrari Classiche certified
The introduction of the 250 Europa heralded a significant change in Ferrari's preferred coachbuilder; whereas previously Vignale had been the most popular
carrozzeria
among Maranello's customers, from now on Pinin Farina (later Pininfarina) would be Ferrari's number one choice, bodying no fewer than 48 out of the 53 Europa/Europa GTs built. Pinin Farina's experiments eventually crystallised in a new Ferrari 250GT road-car that was first displayed publicly at the Geneva Salon in March 1956. However, the Turin
carrozzeria
was not yet in a position to cope with the increased workload, resulting in production being entrusted to
Carrozzeria
Boano after Pinin Farina had completed a handful of prototypes.
Ex-Farina and Ghia designer Mario Felice Boano had founded
Carrozzeria
Boano in 1954 together with his son Gian Paolo and business partner Luciano Pollo. When father and son left for FIAT, Pollo was joined by Boano's son-in-law, Ezio Ellena, and the company changed its name to
Carrozzeria
Ellena. 130-or-so Boano and Boano/Ellena 250 GTs (all left-hand drive) were made between 1956 and 1958, the split being approximately 80/50 in favour of the Boano. The later Boano/Ellena cars were distinguished - generally but not exclusively - by a higher roofline and the absence of quarter-lights in the side windows.
These cars represented a significant departure for Ferrari. Driver and passenger comfort were taken seriously for the first time; the interior was more luxurious, seats were broader and there was less noise intrusion. By this time there was also synchromesh in the gearbox, which, combined with a softer ride and light steering, was exactly what was expected by the increasingly important North American market. However, the Boano and Boano/Ellena-bodied models' mechanical similarity to other arguably more desirable, competition-orientated members of the 250 GT family resulted in a number of them being converted, and original survivors are relatively rare today.
In January 1958, Sports Cars Illustrated
tested one of these Ferraris. "The 250 GT, though, is no race car with touring coachwork," declared the highly respected American motoring journal. "It is a designed-from-scratch high performance tourer that combines Ferrari's best competition chassis features with innumerable refinements that successfully tame the basic inner beast. It's a car that very feminine females have no difficulty handling. At the same time its recent victorious performances at Nürburgring and in the Tour de France suggest that it is today's fastest and most race-worthy production contender. On top of this, the new Ferrari is a luxury automobile in the grand manner.
The design, detailing and execution of every part of its chassis and body reflect the builder's determination to put together a perfect machine." Mike Hawthorn, Formula 1 World Champion for Ferrari in 1958, chose an Ellena-bodied 250 GT Coupé as his personal transport.
Records show that Ferrari 250 GT chassis '0817' (the 25th of 50 Ellenas built) was first registered in Rome, Italy on 2nd April 1958 and sold two days later to SICEA Srl (
Socièta Importazione Commercio Elettrodomestici Affini
). The accompanying Massini Report (2011) lists subsequent owners in Italy up to the early 1970s when the Ferrari was sold to Luigi Chinetti Motors in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. While with Chinetti, the engine from a 250 GT Cabriolet ('0801GT') was installed. '0817' later passed into the ownership of David Tunick of New York, joining his substantial private collection where it remained for over 20 years.
In 2005 the Ferrari was purchased by DK Engineering and shipped to the UK where it was treated by them to a full 'body off' concours restoration over the succeeding three years, during the course of which the engine was rebuilt around a new factory-supplied cylinder block. On completion the car was examined and approved by the UK Ferrari
Classiche
Department. Carrying UK license plates '635 XUM', the Ferrari was displayed at the Essen Motor Show in Germany in November 2009 and for the next few years was owned in Scotland by one Syd B Fraser.
The Ferrari was purchased by its late owner in December 2012. By an interesting twist of fate, in 2013 the owners of Ferrari 250 TdF chassis number '0899' wanted to obtain a Classiche certificate for their car but could not because it had been fitted with engine '0817'. They had a new engine built by the factory for their TdF, thus making engine '0817' available to be reunited with its original chassis. Maranello Concessionaires' archivist Tony Willis has confirmed that the engine's internal number ('0134C') is correct for this car.
There are bills on file issued by Jim Stokes Workshops in 2014 and totalling some £38,000 for rebuilding the original engine ('0817'), which is now back in the car. Since 2016 the Ferrari has been maintained by local specialist M D Allen (see bills on file). In 2019 the Ellena attended the Salon Privé Concours d'Élégance at Blenheim Palace.
More refined and practical than any previous road-going Ferrari yet retaining the sporting heritage of its predecessors, the 250 GT Ellena is an historically significant landmark model of which '0817' is a fine example.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/26999/lot/220/1958-ferrari-250-gt-berlinetta-chassis-no-0817gt/
Стоимость
2 547 584 AED
