It can be difficult to keep all of the different Ferrari 250s straight, as the number was attached to nearly every prancing horse for a period running from the early ’50s until well into the ’60s. But the 250 GT/L Berlinetta “Lusso” does at least give you hint as to its purpose right in the name, as “lusso” is Italian for “luxury.” While many of the iterations of the 250 were made to skirt the line between road car and track car, the Lusso was an unapologetic luxury road car, to an extent that was uncharacteristic (though not entirely unheard of) with Ferrari at the time.
Exterior
There is not a single Ferrari 250 that even comes close to being what you would call ugly, but even in such attractive company, the Lusso body is exceptionally striking. The design, unsurprisingly, comes from Pininfarina, while the bodies were actually built by Scaglietti. The chassis uses a tubular design, similar to that of the 250 GTO. The body is mostly made of steel, but the doors, hood and trunk lid are all made from aluminum, and the car is indeed very light. The Lusso also borrowed suspension components from the GTO, despite, again, not being built for the track.
There were actually a fair number of motorsport components that went into the Lusso, as Ferrari apparently couldn’t help itself. But this is fine, touches like the Kammback rear end of the car look good no matter what the purpose, and it makes for an interesting footnote in Ferrari history. The back end of the car includes a small spoiler, and this marks the very first time that one was incorporated into the bodywork of a Ferrari.
Interior
As good as the Lusso looks from the outside, it is the interior that is the car’s raison d’etre. With the engine mounted much further forward than was the norm, all versions of the 250 had unusually spacious interiors, even short-wheelbase versions like the Lusso. The interior isn’t quite as spacious as that of the 250 GT/E, which was a 2+2 version of the 250, but without the back seats, the driver and passenger still end up with more space. Not to mention, there is a bigger trunk and a parcel shelf behind the seats. This shelf, as well as pretty much every other surface in the car, is covered in high-quality quilted leather. This particular Lusso has had its interior changed a few times, but the leather has been returned to its original color and style. All of which is Ferrari Classiche certified.
Drivetrain
Ferrari’s Colombo V-12 engine is the stuff of legends, and the 250 configuration is the most legendary of all of them. The “250” in the car’s name comes from the engine’s unitary displacement, a common practice for Ferrari’s naming scheme at the time. This means that each cylinder displaces 250 cc. For those of you who didn’t feel an overwhelming need to do the math in your heads, that means the engine’s total displacement is 3.0 liters. And though all 250 models had related engines that were the same size, there were often differences in the internals, and the Lusso borrowed its pistons from the GT/E, while the valves and crankshaft came from the 250 GT SWB. This was a single-overhead-cam version, with just two valves per cylinder, producing a total of 250 horsepower — still pretty quick in a car weighing only about 2,500 pounds. It could hit 150 mph at a time when the fastest car in the world (the Iso Grifo) topped out at 161 mph.
DRIVETRAIN SPECIFICATIONS
Type | SOHC V-12 engine with three Weber carburetors |
---|---|
Displacement | 2,953 cc |
Output | 250 HP |
Transmission | Four-speed manual |
Prices
With 350 units produced, this is not the rarest of 250s, and it is correspondingly not one of the most valuable. But keep in mind that the most valuable 250s are among the most valuable cars in the world, so we’re still talking about insane amounts of money. RM Auctions hasn’t listed an official estimate, but for such a recent restoration and to have all the numbers matching, this probably won’t go for any less than $2 million, likely topping out around $2.5 million. Even unrestored barn find Lussos generally don’t go for much less than $1.8 million.
source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ferrari/1963-ferrari-250-gt-l-berlinetta-lusso-by-scaglietti-ar169825.html#main
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