Ferrari 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina)
1958–1960 · Ferrari 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) — Grand Tourer, V12, designed by Pininfarina.
The Story
The 250 GT Coupe by Pinin Farina is the car that turned Ferrari from an artisan racing-car maker into an actual manufacturer of road cars. Introduced in 1958 and built through 1960, it was the first Ferrari produced in genuine series — some 353 near-identical examples, the first single Ferrari model to comfortably exceed 300 units. Every earlier ‘production’ Ferrari had been effectively bespoke, with bodywork farmed out in small batches (the immediate predecessor 250 GT Coupe had its bodies subcontracted to Boano then Ellena). The Pinin Farina Coupe ended that.
What made it possible was bricks and mortar. Pinin Farina had built a new, modern factory at Grugliasco outside Turin, and by 1958 it had the capacity to design and build the new Coupe in-house, on something approaching a production line rather than a workshop bench. This is the industrialisation of Ferrari road-car production: standardised bodies, repeatable quality, real volume.
The design is deliberately restrained, and that restraint is the point. Pinin Farina abandoned the fastback of the earlier coupes for a clean, formal ‘notchback’ three-box shape — long flat bonnet, wide eggcrate grille, elegant glasshouse, almost no decoration. It is understated to a degree unusual for the marque, a grand tourer meant to be driven and lived with rather than raced. Beneath it sat the Colombo 3.0L V12, a detuned cousin of Ferrari’s race engines, making this the first refined, usable, genuinely series-produced Ferrari GT.
The Numbers
Benchmarked against its class
Each dial ranks this car within its Grand Tourer class — fuller means higher, and the tick marks the class midpoint.
Signature Colors
The Designer
Pininfarina
Italy’s most storied carrozzeria and Ferrari’s principal design house 1952–~2012. Used as the credit where no individual stylist is documented (esp. 1950s GTs designed collectively in-house).
Studio Motors POV
The Pinin Farina Coupe is the unsung hero of the 250 line — not the fastest or flashiest, but the car that industrialised Ferrari and proved the marque could build with restraint as confidently as it built with drama. For our money it remains the smartest-value entry to V12 Ferrari ownership on the planet.
The Engine
Ferrari Colombo V12
Lineage
Where it sits in the bloodline
Market & Value
Values on cars like this move monthly. Our brokers price from real transactions.
What Reviewers Said About 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina)
Worth Knowing About the 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina)
3 Things You Didn’t Know
- • About 353 were built (1958–1960) — the first single Ferrari model to exceed ~300 units, the true beginning of Ferrari series production.
- • It was designed AND built in-house at Pinin Farina's brand-new Grugliasco factory near Turin — the predecessor Boano/Ellena bodies had been subcontracted out while that plant was still being built.
- • Factory-fitted Dunlop disc brakes arrived only late in the run, in late 1959 (chassis 1499GT is recorded as the first Coupe so equipped).
5 Fast Facts
- • ~353 built, 1958–1960 — Ferrari's first true series-production model.
- • Colombo 3.0L (2,953cc) V12, three twin-choke Weber downdraught carbs.
- • ~240 PS / 237 hp — a detuned road version of Ferrari's race V12.
- • Designed and built by Pinin Farina at its new Grugliasco plant near Turin.
- • Engine evolved through the run: type 128C → 128D → outside-plug 128F.
Provenance
Owners & what to look for
Famous Owners
HRH Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland — documented first owner of chassis 1471GT, a 1959 Series I Pinin Farina Coupe also displayed at the 1959 IAA Frankfurt Auto Show; the Bonhams Quail Lodge catalogue (2014) traces the full chain of subsequent owners. No other named, auction-cited owner verified.
Studio Buyer’s Brief
This is the most attainable way into a genuine vintage 250 GT with the Colombo V12 — when Berlinettas and Cabriolets run into the millions, the PF Coupe is the value play in the 250 family. Two technical splits matter: early cars have drum brakes; the more desirable late-1959-onward cars gained four-wheel Dunlop discs (and improved engines/gearbox), so a disc-brake, later-engine (128D/128F) example is the sweet spot. Recent public sales run ~$280k–$916k (broad $300k–$900k band by condition/series/history). Insist on a matching-numbers car with a Marcel Massini history report and prioritise Ferrari Classiche — for a car of this volume, provenance separates a good buy from a money pit.
Full Specifications
- Make / Model
- Ferrari 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina)
- Class
- Grand Tourer
- Production years
- 1958–1960
- Units built
- ~353 (first Ferrari to exceed ~300 units of one model)
- Variants
- Engine layout
- Front
- Engine
- V12
- Engine family
- Ferrari Colombo V12
- Displacement
- 2953 cc (3.0 L)
- Power
- 240 hp
- Torque
- lb-ft
- 0–60 mph
- 7 s
- Top speed
- 150 mph
- Power-to-weight
- 195 hp/tonne · 11.3 lb/hp
- Transmission
- 4-speed manual
- Drivetrain
- RWD · Petrol
- Curb weight
- 2712 lb
Questions
250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) FAQ
What are the key facts about the Ferrari 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina)?
The 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina), produced from 1958 to 1960, uses the Colombo 3.0-litre V12 producing approximately 240 hp in a coupe body designed and built entirely by Pininfarina. With approximately 353 examples produced, it was the most numerous 250 GT coupe of its era and the first 250 GT coupe taken from design through to final assembly by a single house.
What role did the 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) play in Ferrari’s development?
The 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) consolidated the 250 GT formula after the transitional Boano and Ellena cars, confirming Pininfarina as the sole designer and coachbuilder for the 250 GT coupe bodystyle. Its production volume of approximately 353 examples demonstrated the viability of the Pininfarina-exclusive arrangement and set the commercial and stylistic template for the 250 GT line into the 1960s.
How does the 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) compare to the Boano / Ellena coupes it replaced?
The definitive Pinin Farina 250 GT Coupe replaced the Boano/Ellena coupes with a cleaner, more restrained notch-back body designed and built by Pinin Farina. Boano cars are the LOWER-roof version and Ellena cars are the HIGHER-roof version; the Pinin Farina coupe standardized production volume and design maturity.
What is a Ferrari 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) worth at auction?
Hagerty’s valuation data places the Ferrari 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) in the 350,000 to 750,000 dollar range, reflecting its relatively higher production volume of approximately 353 examples compared with rarer 250 GT variants. Well-documented, numbers-matching examples in original specification command premiums over extensively restored cars.
Can you source a Ferrari 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) through Studio Motors?
Yes. The 250 GT Coupe (Pininfarina) is one of the most elegantly resolved early Ferrari road cars, representing Pininfarina’s fully realised vision for the 250 GT coupe after the Boano and Ellena transition period.
The Ferrari Lineup
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250 GT California Spider SWB ’60250 GTE 2+2 ’60250 GTO ’62250 GT Lusso (GT/L) ’62330 America ’63275 GTB ’64365 GTB/4 Daytona ’68Dino 246 GT ’69
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575M Maranello ’02Enzo ’02360 Challenge Stradale ’03612 Scaglietti ’04F430 ’04599 GTB Fiorano ’06430 Scuderia ’07California ’08458 Italia ’09
599 GTO ’10F12berlinetta ’12LaFerrari ’13458 Speciale ’13F12tdf ’15488 GTB ’15GTC4Lusso ’16812 Superfast ’17Portofino M ’17488 Pista ’18Monza SP1 / SP2 ’18F8 Tributo ’19SF90 Stradale ’19Roma ’19
812 Competizione ’21296 GTB ’21Purosangue ’22Daytona SP3 ’22SF90 XX Stradale ’2312Cilindri ’24F80 ’24296 Speciale ’25
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