Harmonie
Es war ja irgendwie klar: irgendwann musste der 250 GT auch noch eröffnet werden. Cabrio, das war schon Ende der 50er Jahre so etwas wie: keine Ahnung, Cabrios verkaufen sich ja auch heute mehr so schlecht als recht. Aber man musste als Hersteller halt eines im Programm haben, für die Amerikaner und sonstige Reiche auf der ganzen Welt. Und der 250 GT mit dem langen Radstand und dem bekannten Colombo-Motor bot sich geradezu an, auch offen in Produktion zu gehen. Dies auch deshalb, weil Pininfarina endlich so weit war, die Fahrzeuge nicht nur zu entwerfen, sondern auch noch zu bauen. Was wichtig war, denn die Qualität machte nun einen entscheidenden Sprung nach oben.
Selbstverständlich hatte es schon vorher offene Ferrari für die Strasse gegeben, ein paar Exemplare vom 212 Inter, einige sehr exklusive Stücke vom 342 America. Doch das waren halt: Einzelanfertigungen. Auf Kundenwunsch. Und deshalb: sündhaft teuer. Mit dem 250 GT eröffnete sich aber die Möglichkeit, grössere Stückzahlen zu produzieren – und trotzdem noch die (teuren und folglich für den Hersteller lukrativen) Sonderwünsche der feinen Klientel zu erfüllen.
Es ist dies eine der wenigen einigermassen übersichtlichen Geschichten in Sachen Ferrari 250 GT. Genau 40 Stück wurden von der ersten Serie des Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet gebaut. Es begann mit #0655GT, die Ende 1956 von Maranello zu Pininfarina geliefert wurde, im März 1957 auf dem Genfer Salon stand, dann von Peter Collins gekauft wurde (und vor der Auslieferung noch schwarz lackiert), eine Rolle spielte in «Goodbye Charlie» (1964, Regie Vincente Minelli, mit Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds und Walter Mattau) – und heute noch existiert, seit 1993 im Besitz der Familie Lee.
Ach ja: #0655GT war eines der ersten Fahrzeuge mit den damals ganz neu entwickelten Scheibenbremsen von Dunlop. Und sieht optisch schon etwas anders aus als die restlichen 39 Stück, amerikanischer, irgendwie. Ein schöner Wagen, fürwahr. Also sowohl #0655GT wie auch die anderen 250 GT Cabriolet der ersten Serie (bis #1475GT, gebaut im August 1960). Mit diesem typischen Hüftknick von Pininfarina, den man beim (offenen) Cabriolet besser sieht als bei den Coupé. Die Form ist wunderbar harmonisch, obwohl der Radstand doch ziemlich lang ist: LWB, also 2,6 Meter. Aber die gedeckten Lampen, die Panorama-Frontscheibe, die extrem saubere Linie machen den Zweisitzer zu einem der schönsten Ferrari überhaupt. Das Cabrio ist alles andere als aggressiv, aber vielleicht ist es das eleganteste Fahrzeug aus Maranello? Zurückhaltung ist eine Tugend, die heute leider kaum mehr gepflegt wird. Es gibt bei diesen 40 Exemplaren der Serie 1 bei vielen Exemplaren kleine Unterschiede, vor allem bei den Stossstangen, den Lüftungsschlitzen und natürlich im Innenraum, der selbstverständlich auch nach Kundenwunsch verändert wurde.
Es ist wohl müssig zu erwähnen, dass praktisch alle 250 GT Cabriolet irgendwann in den USA landeten, zumeist schon gleich mit dem Erstbesitzer. Die Preise sind exorbitant, 2022 wurden für #0759GT 6,82 Millionen Dollar bezahlt. Wir zeigen hier den blauen #1181GT, den RM Auctions 2014 für 4,704 Millionen Euro zuschlagen konnte. Wir halten uns hier einigermassen kurz, weil: es kommt ja dann noch die zweite Serie. Und der California Spyder.
Das alles braucht nun selbstverständlich auch eine Sammlung, oder?
3)
Chassis-Nummer: 0705GT
Motoren-Nummer: 0705GT
Steht derzeit (August 2018) bei RM Sotheby’s Private Sales im Angebot.
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6)
Chassis-Nummer: 0735GT
Steht zum Verkauf bei H’Cars Motorsport in Monaco (August 2025, spannend, da gibt es keine Website, zumindest haben wir keine gefunden), mit diesen Angaben: «The 1957 Frankfurt Show Car – Known as the «Von Trips Series 1» – 1 of only 40 cars built – the only car in this color combination – Matching Number – Full ownership known, has original 1957 German Title.» Was wir auch noch wissen: Erste Besitzerin: Angela Münemann, München, erhielt irgendwann den Motor von 1213GT, wurde auf RHD umgebaut, wurde wieder auf LHD umgebaut, war auch schon grau lackiert. (Und da ist auch noch ein Fragezeichen zum Motor, der wurde in den 80er Jahren mal gesondert verkauft – ist er wieder zurück?)
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10)
Chassis-Nummer: 0759GT
Motoren-Nummer: 0759GT
Auktion: Bonhams, Quail 2014, verkauft für 6’820’000 Dollar, angeboten mit folgendem Text: «This particularly magnificent Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet S1 Pinin Farina is chassis serial ‚0759 GT‘. It is a very early example, being only the eighth of some 40 units built overall. Its chassis frame was delivered to the Pinin Farina plant on September 9, 1957, and upon its completion with this strikingly handsome body it was promptly (and so justifiably) exhibited at the 39th Salone dell’Automobile in Turin’s Valentino Park exhibition hall, from October 30-November 10 that year. In January, 1958, this Cabriolet was then shipped to the Venezuelan Ferrari importer, Carlo Kauffman, in the central-American state’s capital city of Caracas. It was registered there on Venezuelan plates ‚NC 6159‘. The car was pictured in the factory’s official 1959 Ferrari Yearbook, whose compilers every year made much of the burgeoning marque’s global appeal. Study the car’s gorgeously preserved tan leather and honeyed carpeting today and one can imagine just how cool and stylish it must have seemed to Carlos Kauffman and his eager clienti as they sampled ‚0759 GT‘ here on the broad sun-soaked boulevards of Venezuela’s then booming, already oil-rich, capital city…
Caracas itself had grown in economic importance during Venezuela’s oil boom of the early 20th Century. By the 1950s, the sprawling city had blossomed through an intensive modernization programme that continued throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s. The dramatic change in the economic structure of the country, which went from being primarily agricultural to becoming focused upon oil production, had stimulated rapid development and Carlos Kauffman found ready interest amongst his friends and neighbours within the upper-tier of Caraquenian (Caracas) society. Included within the file accompanying this outstanding Cabriolet, are a lavishly-decorated Venezuelan registration certificate, and also a copy of a sales agreement later struck for the car between Luiz Perez Dupuy and his wife Carmen Pietri de Perez Dupuy on the one hand, and Gustavo A. Gutierrez on the other. The document cites the car’s colour at that time as having been ‚verde‘ – green – and the sale price as 80,000 Venezuelan Bolivares. Senor Gustavo Guttierez retained the car in Venezuela until 1986, when it was offered for sale, by that time being described as painted red. Ultimately, in 1991 – 23 long years ago – it was acquired by the great Italian enthusiast Fabrizio Violati and inducted into his Collezione Maranello Rosso displays in the tiny, and-locked, Italian-encircled Republic of San Marino. There the car graced Fabrizio Violati’s exhibition halls, restored in the white paint finish it still retains and fully equipped with a well-made but probably not contemporary white-painted hardtop, which actually exhibits most attractive louvre detailing. We understand that the car was started-up and run from time to time, and it is pictured in colour on pages 54 and 55 of the Collezione Maranello Rosso book ‚Ferrari 250 – Le Ferrari a San Marino‘ written and compiled by the acknowledged 250 GT-series authority, French expert Jess G. Pourret. Today this magnificently imposing Cabriolet is offered with a lovely patina of well-preserved age, its exterior Bianco paintwork providing a striking counterpoint to its luscious, believed original, thick, supple and just exquisite Pelle Naturale Conolly leather upholstery».
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14)
Chassis-Nummer: 0791GT
Motoren-Nummer: ?
Getriebe-Nummer: 44C
Produktionsdatum: März 1958
Original-Farbe: Bianco (MM 10019)
Interieur: Blu (VM 3315)
Erster Besitzer: John R. Fulp (Greenville, South Carolina)
Auktionen: RM Sotheby’s, New York 2015, verkauft für 5’720’000 Dollar; RM Sotheby’s, Maranello 2017, verkauft für 4’719’000 Euro.
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17)
Chassis-Nummer: 0801GT
Motoren-Nummer: 0801 (selbstverständlich)
Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey 2025, Schätzpreis 5,75 bis 6,5 Millionen Dollar, mit diesen Informationen: «According to the research of marque expert Marcel Massini, chassis number 0801 GT is the 17th first-series Cabriolet built. Attractively configured with covered headlamps and front bumperettes, the 250 GT was immediately slated for presentation by the factory at the Geneva Salon, making it one of the marque’s important show cars. For this momentous occasion, the choice was made to finish the Cabriolet in a highly refined color combination, Grigio Metallizzato (MM 16201) paint over an interior trimmed in Rosso leather. A month after being presented on the Ferrari stand at the 1958 Geneva Salon, the Ferrari was sold to its first owner, a professional opera singer based in Milan named Giuseppe Di Stefano. A multi-decade fixture in Italy’s opera niche, Di Stefano was a celebrated tenor who recorded numerous albums with the legendary Maria Callas, and he was a major influence on Luciano Pavarotti. Almost 18 months later Di Stefano sold the 250 GT to Count Alberto Paolo Zintovalle, who kept the car for three years before reselling it to Plaisance Bernard. Bernard soon moved from Milan to Modena, and he went on to retain possession until May 1971, when the Cabriolet was sold to Gastone Crepaldi Automobili, the well-known Ferrari dealer in Milan. The Ferrari remained with Crepaldi for three years before it was purchased by Luigi Chinetti Motors, which ordered extensive cosmetic modifications (including changes to the tail lamps and dashboard configuration, and a repaint in blue). At this time the original engine was removed and installed in a 250 GT Ellena.
After being imported to the US by Chinetti, the Ferrari was soon delivered to its buyer, the well-known collector Philip Wichard, of Huntington Bay, New York. By 1975 Mr. Wichard sold the 250 GT to a dealer, and it proceeded through a short chain of owners over the next two decades, eventually being cosmetically refinished in 1987 in Rosso over cream. In May 2000, 0801 GT was acquired by the consignor, a Ferrari collector living in New Mexico who had long wanted to drive a flagship 1950s sports car on a vintage tour. Following participation in the 2002 Colorado Grand, the owner undertook some restoration of the mechanical elements, and the car then made a fantastic showing at the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolets staged at the 2007 Quail Motorsports Gathering. Four years later the Cabriolet was the subject of a full-color feature in the November 2011 issue of Forza magazine. Even while enjoying this recognition for 0801 GT as well as its spirited performance on the road, inspiration took hold of the owner over time to return the Cabriolet to its original specifications and recapture the grandeur it once displayed as a factory show car. To this end, in 2024 he submitted 0801 GT to Motion Products Inc (MPI) in Neenah, Wisconsin, one of the most trusted names in Ferrari restoration. In addition to performing a complete chassis renovation, the coachwork and interior details were returned to their original factory configuration. After studying a period album photograph, the experts at MPI recognized the depth of color in the original shade of Grigio Metallizato (MM 16201) and refinished the coachwork in a similar shade of Grigio Conchiglia Metallizzato, which features undertones of blue and green that spring to life in certain lighting conditions. After re-trimming the interior in Rosso leather as original, the result masterfully recreated the Cabriolet’s majestic appearance at the 1958 Geneva Salon. Most significantly, the owner re-acquired at considerable expense the matching-numbers engine, number 0801 GT, sourced from UK-based Ferrari specialists DK Engineering. The inside-plug type 128C engine was fully rebuilt and reinstalled in its rightful place adding to the car’s highly desirable state of authenticity. (This engine block had been previously inspected and restamped by Ferrari Classiche in the mid/late 2000s, in an endorsement of its originality.) As reflected by invoices on file, the total investment for the engine purchase and MPI’s comprehensive restoration work exceeded $2 million». (Es gibt andere Quellen, die sehen als originale Farbe Grigio Glace (MM16201). Die Geschichte mit dem Motor könnte stimmen, er war lange in 0817GT.)
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23)
Chassis-Nummer: 0849GT
Motoren-Nummer: 0849GT (da gibt es bei diesem Fahrzeug reichlich Fragezeichen)
Getriebe-Nummer: ?
Produktionsdatum: 05.05.1958
Original-Farbe: Elfenbein (MM 10019)
Interieur: türkis (VM 3478)
Erster Besitzer: Enzo Paolo Tacchini, Mailand
Auktionen: RM Sotheby’s, The Guikas Collection 2021, Schätzpreis 5’500’000 bis 7’000’000 Euro, verkauft für 4’420’625 Euro (Guikas hatte 2007 1,7 Mio Euro bezahlt)
Unterdessen (April 2024) hat er wieder die richtige Farbe – und kommt bei RM Sotheby’s, Monaco 2024, zur Versteigerung, Schätzpreis 4’500’000 bis 5’000’000 Euro.
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25)
Chassis-Nummer: 0913GT
Motoren-Nummer: 0913 (oder so…)
Getriebe-Nummer: 84C
Auktion: RM Sotheby’s, Arizona 2020, Schätzpreis 6 bis 7 Millionen Dollar, nicht verkauft. Mit diesen Angaben: (siehe unten, Kommentare)
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30)
Chassis-Nummer: 0963GT
Motoren-Nummer: 0963GT
Getriebe-Nummer: 81DR
Produktionsdatum: August 1958
Original-Farbe: Nero Tropicale IVI
Interieur: Rosso (VM 3171, Connolly)
Erster Besitzer: Graf Giovanni Volpi di Misurata
Auktionen: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey 2022, verkauft für 6’825’000 Dollar.
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36)
Chassis-Nummer: 1181GT
Motoren-Nummer: 1181GT
Getriebe-Nummer: ?
Produktionsdatum: März 1959
Original-Farbe: Rosso Corsa
Interieur: Bianco
Erster Besitzer: Willy McKelvy (USA)
Auktionen: RM Sotheby’s, Monaco 2014, verkauft für 4’704’000 Dollar.
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Und mehr Ferrari haben wir ja im Archiv.
[…] war ja schon beim 250 GT Cabriolet der ersten Serie (Story: hier) so: Hauptmarkt waren die Vereinigten Staaten. Dort sassen mit dem legendären Luigi Chinetti und […]
[…] Ferrari 250 GT Coupé Speciale. – Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta «Tour de France». – Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 1. – Ferrari 250 GT California Spider […]
Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet S1, #0913GT: «Benefitting from over 20 years of fastidious care by the current owner, this exquisite first-series Pinin Farina cabriolet is one of the most desirable early open Ferraris to be publicly offered. Chassis no. 0913 GT is the 25th example built overall and was delivered to the Pinin Farina workshop in Turin in late March 1958. Clothed in attractive covered-headlamp coachwork with highly desirable vertical front bumperettes, horizontal rear bumpers, and horizontal teardrop tail lamps, the 250 GT was finished in grigio metallizatto (metallic grey) paint and trimmed with an interior of Nero Vaumol leather, completing assembly in late May.
According to the research of marque historian Marcel Massini, the Ferrari was sold in early June to Armando Reggianni of Bergamo, the first of many Italian owners over the next few years. The cabriolet was notably used as the pace car during the 1958 Shell Grand Prix in Monza, and it was pictured in that year’s Ferrari Yearbook with Mrs. Reggianni at the wheel. The Reggiannis kept the 250 GT for nearly four years before selling it in August 1962 to a Bergamo real estate company called Immobiliare S.p.A. Over the following six years, the cabriolet was sold several more times until finally being acquired by Maria Di Paolo in late 1968.
Sometime over the next few years, the drum brakes were converted to proper Dunlop disc units, improving stopping power. The Ferrari was then acquired during the 1970s by an enthusiast named Lacloche on the island of Malta, who reportedly retained possession for close to a decade. During the 1980s the 250 GT was sold to M.H. Scott of Farnham, England, and he commissioned a repaint in traditional rosso and conducted some minor trim upgrades that included the installation of a Jaeger clock and fitting of NART badges. In 1988 the cabriolet then passed to the well-known enthusiast Brian Classic, who kept the car for at least four years.
In June 1992 Sheldon Solow of New York acquired the Ferrari and commissioned a complete restoration that included a repaint in rosso and re-upholstery of the interior in new tan leather. As the original engine block was no longer operable, Solow acquired a correct 250 GT motor in 1993 (from Pinin Farina coupe chassis no. 1081 GT) and had the engine block re-numbered and installed in 0913 GT with the original heads.
In June 1999 the cabriolet was sold to Alex Finnegan, the respected service manager at Paul Russell & Company in Essex, Massachusetts, and he oversaw a sympathetic freshening before selling the car later that year to the current owner, a well-known California-based collector. The consignor quickly entrusted the car to Richard Freshman’s Fossil Motorsports for preparation for vintage touring events. Mr. Freshman specializes in ensuring that cars are prepared to aircraft-grade specifications, utilizing proprietary crack-testing and evaluation methods to guarantee that automobiles under his purview never fail during racing or touring use. Between February 2000 and April 2004, Freshman rebuilt numerous components, including the suspension, shock absorbers, brakes, radiator, clutch, cooling system, fuel tank, and the wire wheels. Perhaps most notably, in May 2002 he restored the original engine block while utilizing original factory components to the greatest possible degree, thereby preparing it for later installation.
After April 2004, the consignor commissioned the respected Ferrari specialist Norbert Hofer of Grand Touring Classics to service the 250 GT as needed, and over the following 15 years he rebuilt the clutch (including a new throw-out bearing), water pump, and exhaust manifolds and installed new motor mounts and a new period-correct exhaust system. He also extensively prepared the cabriolet for several more vintage rallies, fastidiously tuning the Ferrari prior to each event and servicing it again afterwards. The cabriolet admirably completed every event in which it participated.
In October 2016 Mr. Hofer reinstalled the original repaired engine block, reuniting it with its original chassis. A host of other rebuild measures were simultaneously undertaken, including the installation of new pistons and bearings, a new timing chain and camshafts, a new crankshaft, new factory valves with upgraded valve guides, and new upgraded Carrillo connecting rods. The cylinder heads were rebuilt, including new spark-plug wiring, and new coolant pipes and hoses were installed. Despite all this work, efforts were again undertaken to retain original componentry, including the original mouse-type valve-spring arrangement and the original timing cover with proper factory stampings. The extensive engine rebuild cost over $95,000, and since completion the car has accrued less than 1,000 miles while being exercised at least once per month.
Mich stören bei der Serie II die Proportionen – der hintere Überhang lässt das Fahrzeug einfach sehr „hecklastig“ wirken – persönlicher Geschmack, ich weiß. Aber bei der ersten Serie war das sehr viel gelungener, irgendwie schreit der zweite mit dem langen Heck schon nach dem US – Markt.
#0655 hatte noch ein paar Specials, die ihn von der späteren Serie unterschieden: eine massive, verchromte hintere Stoßstange, die Scheibe ohne oberen Rahmen und vor allem eine Einkerbung in der Fahrertür für Collins´ linken Ellebogen. Bild kann ich hier leider nicht hochladen, es findet sich bei Prunet.