1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso

An Italian gran turismo of exceptional elegance and enduring appeal, the 250 GT Lusso ranks among the most celebrated road-going Ferraris of all time. Introduced at the 1962 Paris Motor Show as the final evolution of the distinguished 250 GT line, the Lusso combined Pininfarina’s refined design sensibility with Ferrari’s proven mechanical sophistication, producing a motorcar equally suited to spirited touring and the fashionable boulevards of Paris, Milan, and Rome. The Lusso benefited from more than a decade of continuous development of Ferrari’s 250 GT platform. Its tubular steel chassis featured independent front suspension, a well-located live rear axle, and four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes, while power was supplied by the traditional three-liter Colombo V-12, fed by three Weber carburetors. Although conceived as a luxurious road car, the Lusso retained the responsive character and competition-derived engineering that distinguished the finest Ferraris of its era. Its enduring reputation, however, rests largely upon its sublime coachwork. Designed by Pininfarina and constructed by Carrozzeria Scaglietti, the Lusso’s body is characterized by a low eggcrate grille, long hood, delicately framed greenhouse, and sweeping fastback profile terminating in a restrained Kamm tail. Produced in just 350 examples between 1962 and 1964, the Lusso has long been regarded as one of the most harmonious expressions of the classic front-engine Ferrari berlinetta. According to a report prepared by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, chassis 5073 GT was the 116th Lusso built and was completed on September 26, 1963. A left-hand-drive, European-specification example, it was originally finished in Grigio Argento (Silver Gray) over black Connolly leather. Ferrari issued its certificate of origin that October, and in January 1964 the Lusso was delivered to official Milanese dealer M. Gastone Crepaldi Automobili. The first private owner was Milan resident Tullio Lombardo, a Ferrari enthusiast whose association with the marque extended well beyond this Lusso. Throughout the 1960s, Lombardo owned several significant examples, including a 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione, the Dino 206 Berlinetta GT prototype, and a 330 GT formerly used by Enzo Ferrari himself. Barely two months after acquiring 5073 GT, Lombardo sold it to another discerning Milanese owner: influential art dealer, collector, and cultural ambassador Romeo Toninelli. Toninelli established his first gallery, Il Camino, in 1945 in association with figures connected to the celebrated Il Milione group. Its early exhibitions featured such defining figures of Italian modernism as Umberto Boccioni, Giorgio de Chirico, Giorgio Morandi, and Mario Sironi. An important link between the Italian and American art worlds, Toninelli served as executive secretary for the Museum of Modern Art’s landmark 1949 exhibition Twentieth-Century Italian Art and later represented MoMA in Milan for exhibitions devoted to modern American and Italian art. By the time he acquired 5073 GT in March 1964, Toninelli had reached the height of his career. Having made his fortune in the luxury textile industry before devoting himself fully to the art world, he was both an accomplished businessman and an arbiter of taste. His Toninelli Arte Moderna gallery was an established center of Milanese cultural life, having recently presented an important exhibition of Marino Marini’s paintings and, that same month, a survey of nonfigurative painting. His choice of a silver 250 GT Lusso seems entirely fitting: few automobiles unite proportion, sculpture, and function so successfully, and few owners could have been better equipped to recognize and appreciate those qualities. Toninelli retained the Ferrari until December 1965, when he sold it to Domenico Anastasi of Ponte dell’Olio. During Anastasi’s ownership, 5073 GT was serviced by Ferrari’s Assistenza Clienti department in Modena, with factory records documenting the car’s mileage at approximately 45,000 km by September 1966. The Lusso remained in Italy until January 1968, when its registration was canceled for export to the US. By 1974, the Lusso belonged to Craig Hannum of Lake Oswego, Oregon. Following damage to its left-front fender, it was acquired through Hannum’s insurer by Ed Niles, the prominent California attorney, dealer, and collector who played an important role in the formative years of American Ferrari culture. He commissioned repairs to 5073 GT and had it repainted dark metallic red before selling it in May 1975 to Andreas David Bothe. By 1979, the Lusso was recorded with Texas-based collector Charles H. Reid and remained carefully maintained through the following decades. The Lusso was subsequently restored by Italian car specialist Richard Powers in its present, elegant silver-green metallic over tan color scheme. In 2011, it joined the collection of noted California enthusiast Ernest Prisbe, whose wideranging interests encompassed significant Italian automobiles and motorcycles. The Lusso remained in his collection until its acquisition by the current owner. As offered today, 5073 GT retains its matching-numbers engine (internal no. 1656/62 E), and is accompanied by fitted luggage, a tool roll, jack, and Massini report. With its handsome appearance, documented transatlantic provenance, and period ownership by influential dealer and gallerist Romeo Toninelli, this Lusso embodies the close relationship between Italian automotive design and modern art at their mid-century zenith. Please note that this vehicle is titled 1964 and as 250GTL5073. car

Stima:€1,425,200

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