1959-'62 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta: 100 important cars

Enzo Ferrari had no intention of selling road cars with the company name badge throughout his early years in the 1940s. However, he soon realized that was the best business case for realizing his dream of launching a full-fledged racing organization: the Scuderia Ferrari.

Gaining momentum on the racetrack, the Ferrari 250GT, born in 1959, built its reputation as the epitome of the grand tourer and circuit car. The Ferrari 250 GT was a sports car for all activities and an important step in the history of Ferrari road cars.

At the time, Ferrari built only the chassis, while the body was designed by several coachbuilders. At this point, Pinin Farina was Mr. Ferrari's favorite coachbuilder. Of the six chassis Ferrari designed for the 250 GT, four were built by Pinin Farina and two by Bertone. Regardless of the coachbuilder, all 166 cars built were superbly crafted, often tailored specifically to the buyer's wishes.

The Pinin Farina body was particularly beautiful. The fastback (Berlinetta) body style cut just the right lines and fit perfectly with the short 94.5-inch wheelbase and two-seater layout. The body was made of aluminum for the doors, hood, and trunk lid, although a few cars had all-aluminum bodies. Bertone also built factory-back bodies, but these cars were very different, especially the front. [The body was a development of the Ferrari chassis. Twin A-arms and coil springs were used at the front, and semi-elliptical leaf springs and trailing arms were used on the rear axle. It was also equipped with disc brakes at all four corners, an advanced feature at the time. To match its road and track character, axle ratios ranged from 3.44:1 to 4.57:1, and the interior was available in stripped or leather.

At the front of the hood was a Colombo overhead cam 3.0-liter V-12 engine, connected to a four-speed manual transmission. In the Testa Rossa and GTO, this lightweight (for the time) engine produced 296 hp, while the 250 GT produced 260-280 hp. The engine delivered 0-60 mph acceleration in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 150 mph; the V-12 engine led the 250GT to epic races and, most importantly, to victory.

With the 250 GT, Ferrari established its rightful place as a force to be reckoned with in racing. front-engine road car lineage that still exists today.

The 250 GT more than defined Ferrari in the decades that followed. Famously, Ferruccio Lamborghini beat the car to the punch. When Lamborghini complained about reliability issues, the tractor maker decided to build his own car and took some of Ferrari's engineers to help build it.

Yes, we have the 250GT to thank for that. Without it, there might not have been a Ferrari Grand Tourer as we know it, and there would be no modern Lamborghini.

-Sean Szymkowski also contributed to this report