250 GT Lusso (Tipo 168/U (Berlinetta Lusso))

The Last of the 250 GT Line

Ferrari's 250 series began with the 250 S of 1952 and by 1962 had produced the 250 GT SWB berlinetta, the 250 GTO and the 250 GTE 2+2, all on the same 2,953 cc Colombo V12. The Berlinetta Lusso was the closing chapter. It was conceived as a two-seat road car for customers who wanted a Scaglietti-bodied berlinetta without the SWB's austerity or the GTE's extra seats, and it was never intended for sports car racing. Ferrari's own account is that the prototype, chassis 3849GT, was shown at the 1962 Paris Motor Show, that Pininfarina built it and a few early cars itself, and that Scaglietti bodied the rest through to the latter part of 1964, when the 275 GTB took over.

What Came from the GTO

The chassis is the interesting part. The Lusso's 2,400 mm tubular frame, Ferrari factory type 539/U, was developed from the 250 GTO's structure with narrower tubes, and RM Sotheby's catalogue for chassis 5129 notes that the concentric coil springs around the rear telescopic dampers and the Watts linkage stabilising the live axle were both developed on the racing car. Brakes were Dunlop discs all round with servo assistance, wheels were Borrani wires on knock-off hubs, and the suspension was double wishbones and coils at the front with semi-elliptic leaves at the rear. The engine was moved forward in the frame relative to the SWB, which is why the cabin is roomier and the car rides better; the trade is a nose-heavier balance than the competition cars.

Engine and Gearbox

The Tipo 168/U engine is the 'short-block' Colombo V12 at 73 mm by 58.8 mm, single overhead camshaft per bank, two valves per cylinder, outside-plug heads and three twin-choke Weber 36 DCS carburettors. Ferrari claims 240 bhp. Other credible sources give anything from 236 to 250 bhp and place the peak at either 7,000 or 7,500 rpm; the spread is typical of period Ferrari output figures and no source reconciles it. Torque is quoted at 178 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm by most references. The gearbox was a four-speed all-synchromesh unit with two alternative final-drive ratios. Wikipedia records period criticism that the car was too high-geared, and both modern road tests consulted note that the V12 wants 1,500 to 2,500 rpm before it pulls cleanly in the higher gears. The tachometer's red zone begins at 8,000 rpm.

The Body and the Cabin

Pininfarina's shape has a long bonnet, slim pillars, full-length wings and a truncated Kamm tail with a small integrated lip, which Wikipedia describes as the first on a Ferrari road car. The body was steel with aluminium bonnet, doors and boot lid. The interior was unusual: a nearly vertical three-spoke Nardi wheel, a leather-covered dash with the tachometer and speedometer set in the centre and angled toward the driver, five secondary gauges ahead of the driver, fixed seat backs and pedals adjustable through about 5 cm. Original US list price was $13,375; in Britain the car cost 5,607 pounds.

Owners, Races and the Long Tail

The Lusso has always been the 250 that people drove. Steve McQueen ordered chassis 4891 new in 1963 in metallic brown over beige and kept it for a decade; Wikipedia says he parted with it complaining about exhaust smoke under hard acceleration, and Eric Clapton owned one later. A small number of cars were raced privately, with Ferrari recording thirteenth overall at the 1964 Targa Florio and entries at the 1965 Targa Florio and Tour de France. Chassis 4383 was partly rebodied by Fantuzzi for Tecno's Luciano Pederzani. Around 22 or 23 cars were built right-hand drive for Maranello Concessionaires. Chassis 5783 GT, delivered in Rome in July 1964, had covered 32,000 km by its third service two years later, which is a fair picture of how these cars were used. The model's reputation was made by exactly that usability, and its market has followed the SWB and GTO upward at a respectful distance ever since.

Published ownership writing on the Lusso is thin compared with later Ferraris, and the notes below rest on a handful of sources. The engine's character faults were known in period: Wikipedia records major exhaust smoke under hard acceleration and vibration around 3,700 rpm, the same smoke that Steve McQueen is said to have complained of, and the standard gearing was criticised as too tall. Both modern road tests consulted describe a V12 that is reluctant below about 1,500 to 2,500 rpm in the higher gears, so a car that drives cleanly from low revs has usually had careful carburettor and ignition setup. Engine rebuilds are the large expense; Drive-My's marque specialist advises a compression test before purchase for exactly that reason, and the auction catalogues consulted describe rebuilt engines on several cars, including chassis 4635 in 1996. Routine servicing is not the problem, with DK Engineering quoting annual servicing under 2,000 pounds. The steel body over a tubular frame corrodes in the usual places and a full restoration involves stripping to bare metal, as the Salon Prive sale description of chassis 5443's rebuild makes clear, listing chassis dipping, panel work, a complete rewire, differential and gearbox reconstruction and Weber refurbishment. Weber 36 DCS carburettors need periodic rebuilding, and the Dunlop disc and servo system needs correct sealing to work as intended. Interior leather, the leather-covered dash and correct headlining are all expensive to redo properly; the 5443 restoration used four hides. Beyond that, the recurring risk on this model is provenance rather than mechanics: replaced engines, changed colours and gaps in the history file.

The Lusso market rewards documentation over almost everything else, because nearly all of the 350-odd cars are mechanically alike. Marcel Massini's chassis histories appear in the catalogue text of most serious sales, and Ferrari Classiche certification with the Red Book is cited on the strongest recent results, including Mecum's chassis 4635 and Girardo's chassis 5443. Classiche confirms that engine, gearbox and rear axle numbers match the factory build sheet; a car sold as 'matching numbers per factory records', as Gooding described chassis 5931, is making a similar claim on different evidence, and it is worth understanding which. Several cars have received engines from other 250s over the years, and Magneto records a 275 GTS engine having been fitted to chassis 4607 GT during a past restoration, so engine number against chassis number is the first check. Establish the colour history: original combinations such as Grigio Fumo, Azzurro or Grigio Argento are recorded on the build sheet, and a car returned to its delivery colour reads better than one in a later red. Restoration age matters; Sports Car Market noted that a 30-year-old refinish held chassis 5681 back at Villa Erba. Steel bodies on tubular frames need a proper look at sills, floors and the lower rear quarters, and the 2014 Salon Prive listing for 5443 describes chassis dipping as part of a full restoration for a reason. Ask for a compression test and a complete history file; DK Engineering, quoted by Drive-My, gives both as the minimum before purchase because engine repairs are expensive. Check that the correct Borrani wheels, Nardi wheel and centre-dash instrument layout are present, and that the aluminium opening panels have not been replaced in steel. Right-hand drive with UK importer paperwork is a distinct sub-market. Finally, a car with evidence of being driven, like the 32,000 km in two years recorded for chassis 5783, is not a lesser car in this model's world.

As of September 2026, classic.com's market benchmark for the 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso stands at $1,645,130 on an upward trend, with an average recorded sale of $1,569,407. Tracked results run from $907,000 in August 2023 to $3,300,000 on 17 January 2026, a record that The Classic Valuer attributes to Mecum. The Classic Valuer, working in sterling, gives a median of 1,187,635 pounds across 82 recorded sales with a 72 per cent sell-through rate, and the same January 2026 high at 2,448,600 pounds. Fetched lot results through 2026 cluster well below the outlier: Gooding Christie's sold chassis 5127, a three-year restored car documented by Marcel Massini, for $1,765,000 at Amelia Island on 6 March 2026 against a $1.6 to $1.8 million estimate; Broad Arrow sold a 1963 car for $1,490,000 at Amelia on 7 March 2026; and Mecum sold chassis 4635, Classiche certified with a documented $600,000 restoration, for $1,650,000 at Monterey on 15 August 2026. Earlier comparables: RM Sotheby's Arizona, January 2024, chassis 5129 after 39 years in one ownership, $1,352,500; Gooding's Geared Online sale of chassis 5931 in 2020, $1,430,000; RM Sotheby's Villa Erba, May 2017, chassis 5681 in dark brown, $1,598,789 including premium, with Sports Car Market observing that the market had averaged $2.3 million at the 2014 peak and $1.7 million by 2016. Sterling records: chassis 5443, one of the RHD cars, made 1,897,500 pounds at Salon Prive in September 2014, and the Fantuzzi car 4383 made 1,130,000 pounds at RM Sotheby's Cliveden House sale in 2024. Named provenance moves the model outside its normal band, as the $2.3 million McQueen result of August 2007 first demonstrated.