1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series by Pinin Farina
photo: sotheby’s
As Ferrari reached its furthest stride yet towards series production during the mid-1950s, the manufacturer conspicuously lacked an open 250 GT model. Though luxury cabriolets had been a staple of the 212 and 342 platforms, the 250 GT was initially produced exclusively in coupe body styles.
In March 1956, however, the coachbuilder Boano introduced a new open Ferrari built on the 250 GT platform, a curious-looking cabriolet with tail fins. One year later Pinin Farina unveiled a more refined version with a completely stowable top, rounded fenders, covered headlamps, and a notched driver’s-side door, though it lacked roll-up windows. After experimenting with an altered café racer version, Pinin Farina used its initial design as the basis for a more formal series of luxurious cabriolets that featured wind-up windows and Borrani wire wheels. The coachwork remained essentially unchanged through the production of 37 examples, though the last few were built with uncovered headlamps.
photo: sotheby’s
Comprising a total of 40 examples (including three prototypes), the first-series 250 GT cabriolet was one of the last models constructed in Pinin Farina’s boutique workshop prior to the coachbuilder relocating to a larger factory in Grugliasco. While the bodies were consistent from car to car, the interior details and trim were customized to order, and it is believed that no two were ever produced exactly alike.
Mechanically, these cabriolets shared many elements of the concurrent 250 GT berlinetta ‘Tour de France’. Exquisite in build quality and indubitably rare, the first-series Pinin Farina cabriolets were built through 1959, beautifully resuscitating the luxurious open touring Ferrari. These cars are now highly collectable and generally found as the centerpieces of Maranello-focused collections, only rarely becoming available for sale.
