1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso


Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale this 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso.

This car is understood to have been sold new into Italy and found its way to the USA by the mid 1960’s. Further, it is understood that this car was owned by movie producer Stephen Mitchell. He purchased the car in circa 1966 at the age of 17 and enjoyed it for a few years before upgrading to a 250 GTO . . . those were the days!

The car was acquired in California by Perth based car collector Peter Briggs in 1980. It was imported into Australia and then used regularly by Briggs as it was one of his favourite cars. The car also spent time on display at both the York and Fremantle Motor Museums. The car was acquired by Oldtimer Australia from the Briggs collection in 2010 and sold it to the current owner.

The car was given to Dean Causley’s Classic Auto Metal in Glengarry, Tasmania who completed a nut and bolt restoration to the highest standard. All the mechanical work was completed by Marc Jones from Enzotech.

This wonderful car was completed just in time to be shown at Motorclassica in 2015. Motorclassica was Australia’s leading concours d’elegance and classic car show and this Lusso swept the field, being a unanimous winner for the coveted Best of Show. It was also awarded Restoration of the Year.

The car has been hardly used since it was restored and today is still presents as a fresh restoration.

Background

Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Nike are brands recognisable the world over. So is Ferrari and interestingly the iconic Italian luxury sports car manufacturer was named ‘The World’s Strongest Brand’ in the 2019 Brand Finance Global 500 Report.

Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 out of Alfa Romeo’s race division as Auto Avio Costruzioni the company built its first car in 1940.

The Cavallino Rampate or ‘prancing horse’ was the symbol chosen by Ferrari and like the ‘golden arches’ it is recognised by just about every man, woman and child on the planet!

The Second World War halted Ferrari’s dream, which was finally realised in 1947, when the first car bearing his name, the Ferrari 125 S, was built. From that day on Ferrari race cars dominated the world over, winning race after race and many world championships in Formula One, sports car racing and endurance racing. Motor racing, even back in those days, was not a cheap business to be in and Ferrari needed to find ways to fund it. The answer was an obvious one. Enzo discovered there was a burgeoning demand for high powered grand tourers bearing his prancing horse badge. The lucrative profits from building these cars benefited the racing team. At the same time these GT cars would benefit from the racing program. The engines to be used were civilised versions of the engines which had proved themselves in racing. It also meant all Ferraris would share in a rich competition heritage which would make them even more special.

The 125 S evolved into the 166 Sport which was then adapted for road use and sold as the 166 Inter in the late 1940’s. The 166 was Ferrari’s first true GT car. It made its debut at the Paris motor show on 6th October 1949.

The Ferrari road cars from the 1940’s and early to mid-1950’s were built in very small numbers and it was not until the introduction of the 250 series cars that production numbers increased. Almost 1,000 Ferrari 250 GTE’s were built from 1959 – 1963. The 250 series also produced some of the most special Ferraris ever built, including the Ferrari 250 LM, 250 SWB, 250 California Spider and of course the 250 GTO.

The Ferrari 250 series cars built from 1953 through until 1964 really put Ferrari on the map. The race cars dominated on tracks all over the world and their road cars were without peer and very successful. Ferrari was on a roll and his clientele were the rich and famous.

The 250 series cars were superseded by the 275 series cars, the 330 series cars and later the 365 series cars. The nomenclature designated the cubic capacity of each cylinder. So a Ferrari 250 was powered by a 12 cylinder engine of 2,953cc capacity.

Without doubt one of the best cars to come from Maranello during the early 1960’s was the exquisite 250 GT Lusso. First introduced at the 1962 Paris Motor Show, the Lusso was the last of the 250 Series cars. ‘Lusso’ translates to luxury in English, which was what the Ferrari 250 GT Lusso was all about. Designed by Pininfarina, the 250 Lusso was designed to combine Ferrari’s sporting pedigree with comfort and of course luxury.

The timeless 250 GT Lusso is considered by many to be the most elegant and beautiful Ferrari of all time.

350 examples were built over a short production run from late 1962 through until August 1964.


Specification

  • -
  • Ferrari 250 GT Lusso
  • 1963
  • Two Door Coupe
  • Manual
  • 70,133 km
  • 2,953cc

SOLD

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