Chassis #2511GT, one of 299 Series I built, matching-numbers engine.
The 250 series of cars from Ferrari are among the most famous and coveted of the brand, and for good reasons. Their success is mainly built around the excellent Colombo V12 engine that powered them. The 250 GTE, Ferrari’s first production four-seater, was no exception. Besides its amazing mechanics, the body was an elegant design signed by Pininfarina. The first iteration, bearing the full name 250 GTE 2+2 Series I, was built only 299 times and is therefore one of the rarest GTEs.
Our car, chassis #2511GT, is a Series I example that was finished in May of 1961 and delivered a month later to Ferrari Hollywood, USA. It wore a body finished in Nero 10036 MM and an interior trimmed in Grigio VM 3230 Connolly leather. Its first owner, Mr. Matthews from Los Angeles, enjoyed the car for close to 15 years before passing it to its next caretaker, Dr. Richard J. Beck, an optometrist from South Lake Tahoe. The latter decided to repaint the car in red and retrim the interior in black. Walter Giovanelli’s Barchetta Motorcars acquired the 250 GTE in 1990. Chassis #2511GT would then be offered for sale by Peter Sweeney’s Forza Motorsports in Connecticut, as advertised in the Ferrari Market Letter in 1991.
Our 250 GTE would then find its way to Europe in the year 1995, specifically to Germany, when it appeared for sale at Modena Motorsport GmbH near Düsseldorf, at an asking price of 73,000 DM. In the same year, the car would find a new home at Jochen Frohn’s residence in Leichlingen. The car would then be seen twice at the Ferrari Racing Days at the Nürburgring in 1996 and 1997, of which the sticker can still be seen on the windscreen. On both occasions, the car was still finished in red with black interior. In the early 2000s, Frohn decided to give #2511GT a complete restoration, during which it would be repainted in Grigio Ferro Metallizzato. Now resident in Munich, the car is finished in black on the outside with an interior trimmed in tobacco leather. The work was carried out by official Ferrari dealer Saggio in Munich. Today, the car is presented with its original matching-numbers engine. A great ’60s Pininfarina Ferrari for long journeys at a fraction of the cost of a 250 Lusso, with enough seats for the whole family.
