History
DELIVERED NEW TO GARAGE FRANCORCHAMPS
1959 FERRARI 250GT COUPÉ
COACHWORK BY PININ FARINA
1 of 353 made, its believed that less than half exist now, most were use as donor cars to make 250 California's and other similar Ferrari's
By the early 1960s, road car production had ceased to be a sideline for Ferrari and was seen as vitally important to the company's future stability. Thus the 250, Ferrari's first volume-produced model, can be seen as critically important, though production of the first of the line - the 250 Europa, built from 1953 to '54 - amounted to fewer than twenty. Before the advent of the Europa, Ferrari had built road-going coupés and convertibles in small numbers, usually to special customer order using a sports-racing chassis as the basis. Ghia and Vignale, of Turin and Touring, of Milan were responsible for bodying many of these, but there was no attempt at standardisation for series production and no two cars were alike. 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.
True series production began with the arrival of Pininfarina's 'notchback' Coupé on the 250GT chassis, 350 of which were built between 1958 and 1960 within the sequence '0841' to '2081'. However, the relatively small scale of production meant that cars could still be ordered with subtle variations according to customer choice, as well as enabling a handful of show cars and 'specials' to be constructed on the 250GT chassis. A number of important developments occurred during 250GT production: the original Colombo-designed Tipo 128C 3.0-litre engine being superseded by the twin-distributor 128D, which in turn was supplanted in 1960 by the outside-plug 128F engine which did away with its predecessor's siamesed inlets in favour of six separate ports. Developed from the 1.5-litre unit that powered Ferrari's first ever sports car - the Tipo 125C - this supremely versatile engine proved equally at home on both road and track, effectively establishing the worldwide reputation of the marque. On the chassis side, four-wheel disc brakes arrived late in 1959 and a four-speeds-plus-overdrive gearbox the following year, the former at last providing the 250GT with stopping power to match its speed. More refined and practical than any previous road-going Ferrari, yet retaining the sporting heritage of its predecessors, the 250GT is a landmark model of immense historical significance.
A matching-numbers 'Series I' car fitted with the rarer Tipo 128 'inside plug' engine, chassis number '1239' was completed on 1st April 1959 and five days later was delivered new to Jacques Swaters' Garage Francorchamps SA in Brussels, Belgium. Later that same month the car was sold to its first owner, Mr. André Janssen of the renowned Belgian pharmaceutical family. Sometime later the Ferrari was sold to a Belgian countess and subsequently to Nico Ansems, in Loenen aan de Vecht, Netherlands. The car then had two private owners in the Netherlands between 1973 and 2007 (Marcel Massini history sheet on file) when it was sold via 'Strada e Corsa' in Haarlem to the current Belgian vendor.
Purchased by Robert Brooks of Bohnam Auctions, approx 12 years ago and Robert commissioned a full restoration that was completed in 2020
Modifications
Full no expenses spared restoration completed in 2020
