Ferrari 250 GT Coupe

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Ferrari
Ferrari 250 GT Coupé (1959)
Ferrari 250 GT Coupé (1959)
250 GT Coupé
Production period: 1958-1960
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupe
Engines: Otto engine :
3.0 liters (177 kW)
Length: 4395 mm
Width: 1650 mm
Height: 1397 mm
Wheelbase : 2600 mm
Empty weight : 1300 kg
Previous model Ferrari 250 GT
successor Ferrari 250 GT 2 + 2

The Ferrari 250 GT Coupé is a two-seater sports car from the Italian car manufacturer Ferrari , which was produced from 1958 to 1960. To distinguish it from its predecessors built by Boano or Ellena , the car is also unofficially referred to as the 250 GT Coupé Pininfarina because Carrozzeria Pininfarina took over the construction of these vehicles. The 250 GT Coupé belongs to the diversified Ferrari 250 model family and was its basic model during its production time. With around 350 vehicles, it was also the most frequently produced variant up to that point. With him, Ferrari became a series manufacturer.

background

After the end of the Second World War , the Modenese company Ferrari, whose beginnings lie in racing, expanded its activities to include the manufacture of street sports cars. After Ferrari had initially produced more or less individual pieces, the 250 model family appeared in 1953 as an alternative to the large Ferrari models 340 and 375, which were often exported overseas . As is usual with Ferrari, both street and racing versions belonged to the 250 series. Apart from the 250 Europa, which was only produced in 1953, Ferrari built a 3.0 liter version of the short twelve-cylinder engine from Gioacchino Colombo into all members of the 250 family . The engine gave its name to the entire model family: The number code 250 is derived from the (rounded) cubic capacity of an individual cylinder.

The production of road cars started slowly at Ferrari. The 250 Europa (1953) and its successor, the 250 Europa GT (1954), each produced fewer than 100 cars. With the 250 GT presented in 1955 , which the bodyworks Boano and Ellena built, Ferrari achieved low three-digit numbers for the first time. The successor 250 GT Coupé Pininfarina, presented in 1958, was built around 350 times in two years. It was the most widespread Ferrari model up until then. With him, Ferrari had become a “real series manufacturer”.

The comfort-oriented 250 GT Coupé was the basic model of the 250 series. In parallel, Ferrari offered several vehicles derived from it with a special focus:

In 1960 Ferrari replaced the 250 GT Coupé with the larger 250 GT 2 + 2 .

description

Engine and drive

Tipo 128 twelve-cylinder

The drive of the 250 GT Coupé essentially corresponds to that of the previous model. Like this, the coupé has a variant of the short-block twelve-cylinder, which goes back to a design by Gioacchino Colombo from 1947 and which is also found in a similar form in the other models of the Ferrari 250 family. The twelve-cylinder engine has a displacement of 2953 cm³ (bore × stroke: 73 × 58.8 mm). The cylinder bank angle is 60 degrees. Each bank of cylinders has an overhead camshaft driven by a chain. There is an inlet and an outlet valve for each cylinder. Mixture preparation is done by three double Weber carburettors (type 36DCF). The engine output is 240 hp (177 kW) at around 7000 revolutions per minute.

The variant of the Colombo engine installed in the 250 GT Coupé bears the designation Tipo 128 . The engines were gradually developed over the course of the production cycle. Initially, the Tipo 128C version was installed. After a while the Tipo 128D with two ignition distributors took its place and finally the Tipo 128F . The spark plugs were no longer installed on the inside of the V formed by the cylinder banks, as was previously the case, but on the outside and each cylinder got its own inlet port in the cylinder head.

The power is transmitted via a manual four-speed gearbox. An electrically switchable overdrive from Laycock-de Normanville was installed as standard in the models manufactured in 1960 . There were five different rear axle ratios to choose from.

chassis

The chassis of the 250 GT is also similar to that of the 250 GT Boano / Ellena. Here as there it is the construction called Tipo 508 . The basis is a frame made of oval steel tubes. Like its predecessor, the wheelbase is 2600 mm.

Just like the engine, the chassis has also been further developed in some details over the course of the production period. The front wheels on all models are individually suspended on double wishbones , with coil springs, hydraulic Houdaille lever shock absorbers and a stabilizer . At the rear, the 250 GT has a rigid axle with two longitudinally arranged leaf springs and two trailing arms. Initially, Ferrari also installed Houdaille shock absorbers at the rear; However, the last 250 GT Coupé from 1960 have telescopic shock absorbers at the rear . The first models, like their predecessors, still have hydraulically operated drum brakes on all four wheels , whereas the cars manufactured from 1959 onwards have all-round disc brakes as standard.

body

Strict trapezoidal line: Ferrari 250 GT Coupé
interior

The body of the 250 GT Coupé is made of steel. Unlike the previous models, there are no versions with superstructures made of aluminum sheets.

The design is a work of Pininfarina. The basic layout of the body - very long bonnet, short passenger cell and tight notchback - follows that of the predecessor, but Pininfarina completely redesigned the body in detail. No sheet metal or glass part is interchangeable with the predecessor 250 GT Boano / Ellena. The waistline is significantly lower; the window areas are proportionally larger. The angular roof structure follows the so-called trapezoidal line, which Pininfarina preferred in many of his designs at the time. Two prototypes were equipped with rear panoramic windows, but Ferrari has dispensed with this design feature in the production model. The front and rear windows are inclined at approximately the same angle, and both windows are roughly the same size. There are no rear side windows.

The structures of the series models are largely the same. Because of the standardized production process, customer requests could no longer be taken into account as easily as with the earlier GTs. Deviations are mainly limited to details such as bumpers. The 250 GT Cabriolet took over the lines of the GT Coupé in the second series.

The evaluation of the Pininfarina design is reserved. The shape of the coupé was perceived as strict; Observers consider the design “not a design icon.” Some observers reminded the body of the 250 GT Coupé of the American Ford Thunderbird . This is why the Ferrari was nicknamed "The Italian Thunderbird" in the USA.

production

Production of the 250 GT Coupé began in October 1958. By the summer of 1960, between 335 and 350 copies were made, with chassis numbers from 0851GT to 2081GT. The cars were assembled in Pininfarina's new plant in Grugliasco near Turin .

Prototypes and special models

In contrast to earlier Ferrari GTs, there were no vehicles with special bodies in the current production cycle of the Coupé. Only the four prototypes that were built in early 1958 had different superstructures; after the end of production, a chassis was given its own body.

Prototypes

The second prototype (chassis number 0853GT) had a small side window behind the doors and a heavily curved rear window. The taillights were wide and just above the bumper. This design feature went into series production four years later for the Lancia Flavia Coupé . Pininfarina sold the car to Prince Bertil of Sweden in 1959 .

Nembo Coupe

In 1965, the Neri e Bonacini body shop redesigned a chassis (1623GT) manufactured in 1959. The car, known as the Nembo GT , has a hatchback and flared rear fenders. The structure followed a design by Tom Meade . In addition, two or three similarly designed Spyder were built on chassis from other series.

Technical specifications

Data sheet Ferrari 250 GT Coupé
Technical data Ferrari 250 GT Coupé
Engine: 12-cylinder V-engine (four-stroke), fork angle 60 °, longitudinally at the front
Engine type: Tipo 128C
Tipo 128D
Tipo 128F
Displacement: 2953 cc
Bore × stroke: 73 x 58.8 mm
Performance at 1 / min: 240 hp (177 kW) at 7000
Max. Torque at 1 / min: 260 Nm at 5000
Compression: 9.5: 1
Mixture preparation: 3 downdraft twin carburettors Weber 36DCF
Valve control: overhead camshafts
Cooling: Water cooling
Transmission: 4-speed gearbox
from 1960 with overdrive
Front suspension: Independent suspension
Double wishbones, coil springs
Rear suspension: Rigid axle on longitudinal leaf springs
from 1960 telescopic shock absorbers
Brakes: Drum brakes all around (1958)
Disc brakes all around (1959–1960), hydraulically operated
Steering: Snail and roller
Body: Sheet steel or aluminum on oval tube frame chassis
Track width front / rear: 1354/1349 mm
Wheelbase: 2600 mm
Dimensions: 4395 × 1650 × 1397 mm
Empty weight: 1300 kg
Top speed: 210-260 km / h
Number of pieces: approx. 350

literature

  • Leonardo Acerbi: Ferrari: A Complete Guide to All Models. MBI Publishing Company LLC, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7603-2550-6 .
  • Georg Amtmann, Halwart Schrader: Italian sports cars. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01988-4
  • Matthias Braun, Ernst Fischer, Manfred Steinert, Alexander Franc Storz: Ferrari road and racing cars since 1946. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02651-3 .
  • Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. All series and racing vehicles from 1947 to the present day. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 .
  • Godfrey Eaton: The Complete Ferrari. Edited by Geoff Willoughby. Cadogan Books, London 1985, ISBN 0-947754-10-5 .
  • Brian Laban: Ferrari. Translated from the English by Frauke Watson. Parragon Books, Bath 2006, ISBN 978-1-4054-1409-8 .
  • Frank Oleski, Hartmut Lehbrink: Series sports cars. Könemann, Cologne 1993, ISBN 3-89508-000-4 .

Web links

Commons : Ferrari 250 GT Coupé Pininfarina  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Matthias Braun, Ernst Fischer, Manfred Steinert, Alexander Franc Storz: Ferrari road and racing cars since 1946. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02651-3 , p. 180 f.
  2. ^ A b Matthias Braun, Ernst Fischer, Manfred Steinert, Alexander Franc Storz: Ferrari road and racing cars since 1946. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-613-02651-3 , p. 195.
  3. ^ Brian Laban: Ferrari. Translated from the English by Frauke Watson. Parragon Books, Bath 2006, ISBN 978-1-4054-1409-8 , p. 35.
  4. ^ A b Frank Oleski, Hartmut Lehbrink: Series sports car . Könemann, Cologne 1993, ISBN 3-89508-000-4 , p. 160.
  5. ^ Description of a 250 GT Coupé on the website of the Bonhams auction house
  6. ↑ Description of the Ferrari 250 GT Coupé on the website www.barchetta.cc  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on September 2, 2018).@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.barchetta.cc  
  7. ^ A b Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The large Ferrari manual. All series and racing vehicles from 1947 to the present day. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 , p. 53.
  8. ^ A b Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The large Ferrari manual. All series and racing vehicles from 1947 to the present day. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 , p. 50.
  9. ↑ Dean Bachelor, Chris Poole, Graham Robson: The Great Book of Sports Cars . Müller, Erlangen 1990.
  10. ↑ Leonardo Acerbi: Ferrari: A Complete Guide to All Models. MBI Publishing Company LLC, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7603-2550-6 , p. 126.
  11. ↑ Brief description of the 250 GT Nembo Coupé on the website www.barchetta.cc (accessed on September 2, 2018).