Sometimes, an auction description just rings through your head like a cash register at the grocery store — each additional word creating a “cha-ching” sound that you know will add a million dollars to the sale price.
This 1960 Ferrari (cha-ching) 250GT (again…) Berlinetta (brrring) Competizione (super cha-ching) might top $20 million when sold this summer at Lake Como for the RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba sale.
One of 45 aluminum-skinned 250GT’s made in 1960, this car rolled out the SWB ‘passo corto’ chassis for extra maneuverability on tight tracks or winding roads. It also chopped around 100 pounds from the car’s total weight, making the 3.0-liter Columbo V12’s 280 ponies snort with extra potency.
Originally finished in dark grey over red leather, the flawless Giallo Modena over black leather will only enhance this value of this 250GT — for its rarity alone. Few Ferrari’s were painted yellow until the mid to late 1960s, so this Competizione car with its racing details will draw even more attention to itself than normal.
1960 Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta Competizione
1960 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti
- Chassis no. 1953 GT
- Engine no. 2025 GT
- Gearbox no. 180F
- One of about 45 aluminium-bodied competition versions produced in 1960
- Restored by renowned experts at Motion Products Inc.
- A frequent vintage racing competitor; campaigned at the Silverstone Classic and Goodwood Revival
- Eligible for the Tour Auto and Le Mans Classic
MARANELLO’S FINEST DUAL-PURPOSE GRAND TOURER
By 1959, Ferrari had established its dominance in sports car racing on a global scale. Those cars adorned with the Prancing Horse were handily taking home trophies at races around the globe and at the highest levels of motorsport. Enzo Ferrari was looking to keep his cars at the top of the podium for the next decade and to continue to do battle with the likes of Aston Martin and Jaguar. In the GT category, Ferrari was truly second to none, and its 250 GT long-wheelbase Berlinetta was regarded as the finest dual-purpose GT car money could buy. It was versatile enough to be driven on public roads to an event, raced in anger to victory, and driven back home all in the same day. Of course, with a design by Pinin Farina and coachwork by Scaglietti, these cars looked just as good stationary as they did at speed. Ownership of a 250 GT Berlinetta was the dream of any motoring enthusiast.
The newest competition-ready Berlinetta took the reins from the aging LWB “Tour de France” and was introduced in 1959 at the Paris Salon. This new car boasted bodywork similar to the outgoing TdF and “interim” Berlinetta, but its new chassis had a wheelbase 200 millimetres shorter than its predecessor, leading the cars to be differentiated by enthusiasts as passo lungo, or LWB, for the long-wheelbase examples, and passo corto, or SWB, for the new Berlinettas.
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
Mr. Burkart is available for all questions and concerns by email Tom(at)car-revs-daily.com.