THE LUSSO

The 250 GT/L, known simply to enthusiasts as the Lusso or “luxury,” was introduced at the 1962 Paris Salon as a replacement for the earlier 250 GT Coupe. It featured exceptional new Pininfarina styling, with delicately curved fenders and an egg-crate grille recalling their earlier creations, but new modern flourishes such as longer windows and a fastback roofline that looked firmly towards the future. Befitting the name, the interior was swathed in quilted leather, facing a revised dashboard arrangement. All was based upon a mightily improved chassis with four-wheel disc brakes, coil-over shock absorbers at each corner, and a rear Watts linkage, as perfected on the legendary 250 GTO. Under the hood was the ultimate 3-liter development of the long-running short-block Colombo V-12, featuring the outside-plug ignition and single-cylinder porting that had proven so successful in the 250 Testa Rossa and California Spider.

It was, by any measure, an outstanding gran turismo and one of the most beautiful roadgoing Ferraris ever built. It also represented the final iteration of the original 250 GT for the street, Ferrari having taken its long-lived platform as far as it could go and made it the best that it could possibly be. Enthusiasts adored the model then—Steve McQueen and Rob Walker, men who knew performance machinery, were happy owners—and their successors still do now.

Paul Andrews experienced several wonderful Ferraris through his collection, of which the Lusso offered here was among the last. It was a fitting acquisition, as it was extraordinarily rapid and fun to drive—a worthy machine for a collection of the finest high-speed road cars.

CHASSIS NO. 4393 GT

Chassis number 4393 GT was completed by the factory in March 1963 as the 21st of the 350 Lussos built, in Amaranto over Beige Connolly leather. The following month it was invoiced and delivered to the famed Garage Francorchamps in Brussels, Belgium, which shortly resold it to North American importer Luigi Chinetti for export to the United States. The car was sold to Jochen Di Giorgio of Sausalito, California in 1967, next passing in 1970 to Robert White of Chicago, who refinished it in silver-grey with a black interior.

The car was advertised for sale, both by Ed Waterman and by a California owner, through the late 1970s and 1980s. In June 1989 it reappeared in Alabama, and then in 1992 was restored in Bordeaux with a black interior. Next, it relocated to The Netherlands in 1997, and there was refinished once again to silver-grey metallic; as of 1999 it was owned by Anthony J. Mak van Waay of Huizen. In 2001 the world-traveling Lusso again returned to Germany, then passed to Dominique Balders of Belgium, in whose ownership it was seen at the Modena Motorsport Track Days at the Nürburgring in 2003.

In 2006, chassis number 4393 GT was owned by Donald Hekler of Annapolis, Maryland, who exhibited it at the 42nd Annual Ferrari Club of America National Field and Driving Concours that same year. The following year it was sold to Wayne Carini, whose F40 Motorsports undertook a full restoration between 2009-10, with final completion and detailing by the noted Ferrari specialist Greg Jones soon thereafter. While in Mr. Jones’ care, the Lusso was submitted to the factory for Ferrari Classiche certification. The Red Book was received soon after, confirming that the car retains all of its original major mechanical components save the gearbox, which is, however, of the correct type.

Now finished in Grigio Fumo over Tobacco interior and riding on Borrani wire wheels shod in correct Michelin XVS tires, the Ferrari passed through a handful of short-term ownerships on the East Coast before Paul Andrews purchased it in 2018. It remains superbly detailed, with the color combination being very handsome, the finishes superb aside from a few minor chips and flaws, and the undercarriage and engine bay very clean, tidy, and proper. At the time of cataloguing the car had recorded 4,419 miles since restoration. A complete reproduction tool roll is included, along with several history reports and, of course, the all-important Red Book, as well as a handful of invoices from the last decade.

The 250 GT is among the most legendary of all Ferraris for the road, and for good reason—and it is the slinky, sensuous Lusso that represents that model at its most evolved and, simply, at its very best. This Classiche-certified example, equipped with its matching-numbers engine and superbly finished in one of the best imaginable color schemes, offers the opportunity to experience such greatness firsthand.