Lot details
• Certified by Ferrari Classiche
• Full, high-quality restoration by Cremonini, Toni Auto and Luppi
• Concours restoration, magnificent colour
• Rare model combining prestige and performance
• No reserve
The Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso (for ‘luxury’) is sometimes considered one of the most beautiful cars of all time, a claim naturally supported by the superlatives used in the brochure in period: “With its perfectly pure styling, the work of the great coachbuilder Pinin Farina, comfortable, refined, elegant and rational, this berlinetta will meet the most stringent requirements of the most demanding customers, those of Ferrari.” The brochure went on: “Its solid construction, agile handling and blistering acceleration make this ‘GT’ a car which is particularly safe and suited to high speeds.” What can we add? Clearly, with this model Ferrari wanted to combine prestige and performance, and the result exceeded its expectations.
The car we are presenting, chassis 5191 GT, left the factory in 1963 and was the 165th of the 350 Lussos built. It was sold in Italy through the official Ferrari dealer in Milan, MG Crepaldi, to its first owner, Alfredo Honegger, from Bergamo, who registered it in January 1964 as BG 102546. He drove it for two years before selling it to a Portuguese aristocrat, Francisco Heredia, who registered it in his name at the address of the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) in Milan. It is understood that he kept the car for 16 years before it was sold in 1981 to Alfonso Malvessi, from Milan. On 26 and 27 September 1981, Malvessi took part in the ‘Raid Ferrari d’Epoca’ held at Modena, and although he entered the event with a Dino 206 GT, he appears to have used the Lusso, with the number 4. The following year, in 1982, it was bought by Dr Hans Bernbach from Lugano in Switzerland, who took part in the ‘Ferrari Days’ at Modena in 1983, with the number 91. He returned to Modena in September 1985 for the ‘80 Anni di Sport con la Ferrari’, entered as number 201. The event celebrated the 80th anniversary of the ACI and although not specifically reserved for the marque, a great many Ferrari models took part.
A change of ownership was then recorded in 2005, when the car was bought by an Italian collector living in Switzerland. He is believed to have kept it until May 2011, when it was offered for sale at the auction organised alongside the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este. At this time, the Berlinetta Lusso was finished in red, with a beige interior. It was sold at the auction to a Swiss collector, who then sent it to the workshops of Toni Auto in Maranello to be restored. There it was noticed by Staffan Wittmark, who negotiated to buy it in its unfinished state. As his own 250 GT Spider California was undergoing restoration by Toni Auto, he naturally left the Lusso there for its rebuild to be completed. At the time he bought it, the mechanical part of the rebuild (the engine, transmission, suspension, steering, brakes and electrical system) was virtually finished.
At this point, the chassis and body had already been checked and rectified, but the light grey metallic colour chosen by the previous owner did not do justice to the Lusso’s pure lines, and Wittmark – who was particularly sensitive to the colour of the cars in his collection – therefore decided to have it completely repainted. After being stripped to bare metal, the bodyshell was sent to the Carrozzeria Cremonini, a renowned specialist in Lesignana, near Modena, to be prepared and repainted in ‘Grigio Fumo Metallizzato’, a shade matching the original range of colours. At the same time, the body trim and accessories were re-chromed to concours standard, while new Borrani RW 3801 wire wheels added the finishing touch to the car’s external appearance.
Inside, the upholstery had been restored with leather which the owner felt was not up to the standards of the model, with the result that it was entirely redone in the workshops of Luppi Tappezzeri, in Modena, using Connolly Vaumol leather (code VM 3218), matching the original specification.
Once this work had been completed, the car went back to Toni Auto, who carried out the final checks and adjustments before delivering a near-perfect car to its owner. Naturally, it comes with its ‘Red Book’ certification from Ferrari Classiche, a CD and a book of large-format photographs relating its history and restoration, as well as its tool kit.
For our collector, a discerning designer who attaches great importance to aesthetic values, the Berlinetta Lusso is a car which he absolutely had to add to his collection, as its styling is so well balanced. It is, moreover, one of the three cars he chose to take part in the Concorso d’Eleganza held at Ferrari in 2017 to mark the company’s 70th anniversary.
Thanks to the very high-quality restoration carried out by the best Italian craftsmen, this example corresponds exactly to what Ferrari intended: to produce a luxury GT delivering the highest possible performance on the road. Collectors will recognise it for what it is.
