The first road-going Ferraris were built in the late 1940,s, although they were thinly disguised racing machines. It wasn´t until the 250GT appeared in 1954 that the cars were built in appreciable numbers. All the 250s used a 2953cc version of the V12 designed by Gioacchino Colombo, the “250” name referring to the (approximate) capacity of one cylinder.
Early 250GTs had 200bhp and could reach 120mph (193km/h). The elegant touring bodies were by Pininfarina, which was already established as Ferrari´s preferred bodywork designer.

The rare 250GT Tour de France, with a tuned engine giving up to 280bhp, followed in 1965 and cabriolet versions of the 250GT were available from the end of 1957. More significant was the introduction in 1959 of a short wheelbase version with 8in (200mm) chopped out of the middle of the car, stiffening the chassis and improving the handling. They were an effective weapon in production sports car racing.

In 1962 the long-wheelbase 250GT was discontinued and the short-wheelbase car turned into the more comfortable and better equipped 250GT Berlinetta Lusso. Meanwhile, for racing, Ferrari produced a lighter, more aerodynamic version called the 250GTO. Just 39 of these fantastic machines were built, but Ferrari fans the world over recognise their curvaceous low-drag bodywork in an instant.

The touring 250GT Lusso was now producing 240bhp, while the racing GTO was up to 300bhp. In an effort to improve power still further the V12 was bored out from 73mm to 77mm, taking its capacity up to 3286cc. The result was the 275 series, which replaced the 250 in 1964.