LAMBORGHINIS, FERRARIS, MID-ENGINE VETTES—and even the occasional neo Bugatti—are seen today here in Orange County, California. There’s no mistaking their exotic nature. Add a classic 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe to today’s traffic mix and, ironically, its subtlety would be noteworthy. Only the cognoscenti would include it among exotics.
Back in June 1960, though, this Pinin Farina coupe was cause for elation among R&T staff members.
Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Coupe. “The ultimate in driving: a masterpiece from Ferrari by Farina.” This and other images and captions from R&T, June 1960.
“This month,” R&T wrote, “we hit the jackpot. First, a real, single-seat racing car (see pages 43-45) [and “F-Jr Fun—Enjoying an Elva and an Enjoy” here at SimanaitisSays]…. Then, to put the frosting on the cake, the dream of every red-blooded automobile enthusiast—a Ferrari 250 GT Coupe—was offered to us for testing.”
Actually a Pair of Them, One Piloted by Phil Hill. The first was purely a photo car; the second, which R&T staffers also got to drive, was piloted in its performance testing by no less than Phil Hill (destined to be Formula One World Champion a year later).
“The power behind the throne; a 2953-cc V-12 sohc engine.”
R&T noted, “It is not ordinarily Road & Track’s policy to let someone other than staff drive a test car, but in the case of a privately owned car we feel that, 1) More often than not, the owner, who is more familiar with his car, can get better results during the test and, 2) It removes a great deal of the tension involved when a private owner lends his pride and joy to a crew for testing.”
“The standard tool kit spread out in the carpeted trunk.”
Moreover, R&T said, “In this case, the owner, and Ferrari of California, felt that Phil would be a good choice for test driver (we had no quarrel with this)…. It was a real pleasure to watch a craftsman like Hill at work and after our brief ride with him we almost felt as if we could have taken Richie Ginther’s place as passenger with Hill on the Carrera Panamericana a few years ago (almost, but not quite; we’re not that brave yet).”
Richie, of course, was to continue his racing career with Ferrari and BRM Formula 1 and subsequently giving Honda its first GP victory (in the 1965 Mexican GP).
“Functional, easily read instruments in their proper place.”
R&T’s Drive. “We found the coupe to be not only comfortable, responsive without being temperamental, and agile, but also one of the easiest cars to handle we’ve ever driven…. With confidence came a relaxed attitude that enabled us to get more performance from the car with less effort and served to point out the obvious fact that this car was the evolution of fine competition machinery.”
Price and Value. At a list price of $12,600 in 1960, the Ferrari was not inexpensive. My handy CPI Inflation Calculator indicates this is equivalent to a goodly piece of change today, $133,736.66. On the other hand, prices of today’s hyperexotics are obscenely more (and, in some sense, so are the cars).
“A wrap-around bumper that is decorative and functional.”
And a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Coupe sold at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2023 for $280,000.
Image by Darin Schnabel/Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.
Though evidently requiring some attention, this example fits R&T’s characterization noted in June 1960: “… a Ferrari isn’t built for the average driver…. It is a car designed for those who know, and appreciate, the difference and can afford to pay for it. A man or woman (the car is so easy to drive that it can be, and is, driven every day by women) [the sound you hear is Wife Dottie, R.I.P., spinning at 7000 rpm] who savors the sound, the feel, the stability and performance of a car like this will consider the money it costs well spent. This is a car designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, and it shows.”
In 1960 or 64 years later today. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024