Ferrari’s breath-taking 250 GT/L was designed as a new offering to fill the market between the sporting 250 GT SWB and its more luxurious sibling, the 250 GTE 2+2, by combining the best features of both. The Lusso was first seen by the public at the Paris Motor Show in October 1962, and many enthusiasts simply fell head over heels for the beautiful body and Kamm tail that adorned the newest 250. Fortunately, all this beauty did not sacrifice aerodynamics, as these flowing lines helped to direct airflow towards the car’s rear spoiler. As per usual for the 250 series, the design was penned by Pininfarina and bodies were constructed by Scaglietti, with the bodies being made out of steel and the doors, bonnet, and boot lids out of aluminium.

The beauty of the Lusso did not just extend to its body and interior. Under the aluminium bonnet was Ferrari’s 3.0-litre, Colombo-designed V-12, topped with three Weber carburettors. Accelerating from 0 to 60 mph took just eight seconds, and the car was able to continue to accelerate until it reached its impressive top speed of 150 mph. The Lusso also borrowed its short-wheelbase chassis design from the 250 SWB and 250 GTO. As such, it was graced with the fantastic handling characteristics associated with those two models. As the final Ferrari in the 250 lineage, the Lusso would be the last car to feature the 3.0-litre Colombo V-12, effectively closing the door on one of the most spectacular engines in automotive history.

The Lusso excelled as a gran turismo in every sense of the term. Cruising along at high speeds was no problem, and the car could comfortably cross long distances with ease. With slender A- and B-pillars, the interior has fantastic outward visibility, making it a much more relaxing place to be in on long trips.

As the Lusso is widely celebrated as one of the most exquisitely proportioned Pininfarina-designed Ferraris ever built, it has been widely sought by hundreds of enthusiasts, each of whom wanted one to call his or her own. Celebrity enthusiasts such as Steve McQueen and Eric Clapton each owned one, only adding to the Lusso’s allure. With 350 produced by the end of the second and final year of production in 1964, this was a car clearly destined to become a future classic.

CHASSIS NUMBER 5885

The Berlinetta offered here was completed in July 1964 and was one of the last manufactured, being the 338th of only 350 examples. It was finished in Grigio Argento over a Nero leather interior and was sold to its first owner through official dealer J.H. Keller AG in Zurich, Switzerland. The first owner clearly enjoyed the car and used it regularly, returning it to Modena for servicing at the Ferrari factory’s Assistenza Clienti at the Viale Trento Trieste on 30 September 1964 with 5,609 kilometres on the odometer. Three and a half years later, on 18 April 1968, the car returned for another service, this time displaying 27,758 kilometres.

Later in the 1970s, chassis number 5885 was acquired by André Surmain, of Porto d’Andratx, Mallorca, Spain. Mr Surmain, a passionate sports car collector and connoisseur, had retired to Spain following many years as the creator and impresario of renowned French restaurant Lutece in New York. He enjoyed this car for over a decade.

By the late 1980s, the car was under the tenure of Leo Schildkamp, a resident in Heerlen, Netherlands. It was then registered on Dutch license plates DE-14-07 on 29 April 1988. Schildkamp showed the car later in August 1988 at the AvD-Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, in Germany. Over the winter of 1988, the car received a bare metal bodywork restoration at Lusso Service Holland in Duiven, photos for which are included on file. The car was then again shown by Schildkamp at the FF40 meeting in Brussels and Spa-Francorchamps in September 1992.

The following January, the Lusso was sold to Peter Wolthers. He clearly enjoyed this Ferrari and maintained it for an additional 14 years before it was acquired by the present owner. The car has since attended several French Ferrari Owners’ Club events, including most recently the Chevaux Vapeur Concours in Paris on 22 September 2014. During its current ownership, chassis number 5885 has been driven regularly, meticulously maintained, and in recent years has received a complete engine rebuild, again for which records are available on file. It is also fitted with a beautiful period-correct Blaupunkt AM/FM radio, manual antenna, and period-correct speaker in the rear parcel shelf.

Offered in its ever graceful and original colour combination, this Lusso also retains its original chassis, engine, gearbox, and rear axle. It presents as a great opportunity to obtain one of Ferrari’s utmost luxuries.