One to Buy: 1958 New York Motor Show Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 1
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During the late 1950s, arguably the most beautiful two-saeat Roadster offered by any manufacturer was the Pinin Farina-styled first generation Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet.
Underneath rakish lines embellished with delicate details and an almost impossibly elegant profile, the handsome model was much like any other 250 GT of the time: tubular steel chassis with independent front suspension, live rear axle, drum brakes and a three-litre 60° V12 coupled to a five-speed gearbox. The steel body with its aluminium opening panels was fitted at Pinin Farina’s Turin factory where cars were also kitted out with their interior equipment before being sent back to Ferrari for final finishing.
Including prototypes, just 41 copies of the Pinin Farina-bodied Series 1 250 GT Cabriolet were produced between 1957 and ‘59, among the best preserved of which is chassis 0809 GT that will be going under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale scheduled for August 13th through 15th.
Completed in early 1958 with exceedingly desirable covered headlights, 0809 GT departed Maranello wearing a coat of Rosso Metallizzatto paint and contrasting Naturale upholstery.
Having been delivered to Ferrari’s US distributor, Luigi Chinetti Motors, 0809 GT was exhibited at the New York Motor Show which took place from April 5th to 13th. Soon afterwards, the car was delivered to its original owner, Dr. Paul Riffert of Ephrata, Pennsylvania. A surgeon and medical director for the Ephrata Community Hospital, Riffert went on to own several more Ferraris to include a Series 3 410 Superamerica, a 275 GTB and 365 GTC/4.
Riffert ultimately traded 0809 GT back to Chinetti as a makeweight for his new 275 GTB in 1965, at which point the 250 GT joined the renowned collection of Norman Silver in High Point, North Carolina. Here, in a stable that also included the likes of a 250 LM, 275 GTS/4 and 250 GT Berlinetta, the Series 1 250 GT Cabriolet resided for the next 18 years.
In 1983, chassis 0809 GT was sold to Texan oil man and race team patron, John Mecom Jr., before its acquisition by the current custodians via dealer Don Meyer of Short Hills, New Jersey, in 1985.
Aside from a repaint in its original colour several decades ago, the matching numbers car remains in overwhelmingly original condition as evidenced by an award in the Postwar Preservation class at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Remarkably, this was the second of only two public appearances the car has made in its current ownership, the other having been at The Quail Motorsports Gathering in 2007.
