One to Buy: ex-Giuseppe Di Stefano 1958 Geneva Motor Show Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 1
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As a consequence of its practically perfect and almost impossible delicate styling, Ferrari’s rarely seen first generation 250 GT Cabriolet has come to be regarded as arguably the ultimate expression of high end open top Italian motoring from the 1950s.
Produced in a run of just 40 units, each example of which differed slightly to the next, the 250 GT Cabriolet combined a traditional tubular steel chassis and Ferrari’s renowned short block Gioacchino Colombo-designed 3-litre V12 with a Pinin Farina body that incorporated all the latest aerodynamic understanding.
Surprisingly, only 40 examples of this now much sought after model were built between 1957 and ‘59 as sales of fixed head Coupes and Berlinettas far outweighed the occasional open bodied car that Ferrari manufactured during this period.
With such a tiny number produced, every Series 1 250 GT Cabriolet is an automotive VIP, however, set to go under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction scheduled for August 15th and 16th is a truly special example of the breed: chassis 0801 GT.
Configured in Grigio Metallizzato with Rosso leather and matching carpet, chassis 0801 GT served as Ferrari’s motor show car for the most important expo of the year: March 1958’s Geneva Salon. The car was subsequently sold new to celebrated tenor, the opera singer Giuseppe Di Stefano, with whom it later starred on the cover for his 1965 album Neopolitan Songs.
More recently, chassis 0801 GT was subject to an exacting $2m restoration by the Ferrari experts at Motion Producs Inc. since which time it has collected a second in class at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and a Platinum Award at the Ferrari Club of America’s annual National Meeting and Concours at Elkhart Lake.
