Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta: Beautiful, cool, iconic and desirable.

The emergence of the Ferrari 250 GTO meant that Ferrari started differentiating its lines of race cars and road cars. While the race car line earned fame for Ferrari, it was the road car line that earned money to support the motor sport activities. That’s why Ferrari produced the road car 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta in the same year as GTO. Some 351 Lusso’s were sold from 1962 to 64, thus it became the fastest selling Ferrari until then.

“Lusso” is the Italian word for “Luxury”. It implied the car was the luxury version of the 250 GT series. Basically, the chassis frame was similar to the GTO, but the V12 was moved forward to create more cabin space. Unlike the GTO, its bodywork was made of steel, although bonnet, doors and boot lid were aluminum. The car was quite heavy at 1310kg. In addition, its V12 was detuned to 250 horsepower, thus performance was no match with SWB Berlinetta and GTO of course. Top speed was estimated to be 145 mph, while 0-60 mph took about 7 seconds.

The Lusso was not renowned for its performance, but is can certainly claim a place to be the most beautiful of the 250 GT series.  Designed by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti, the Lusso’s bodyshell has a sleek appearance and sexy curves that its sisters lacked. Many people regard it as the most beautiful Ferrari ever built because it had the elegant details of pre-mid-1960s classic era and the sexy visual appeal of post-mid-1960s exotic era.

The cockpit of Lusso is light and airy, thanks to large window area and very slim pillars. The dashboard is fully trimmed with beautiful leather. The Nardi wooden rim steering wheel, classic aluminum spherical gearstick and a leather-clad luggage area behind the seats looks beautiful. However, the Lusso was not the most luxurious Ferrari at the time – that was the larger and more expensive Superamerica.

So, do you think the 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta is the most beautiful car ever?  If not, is it the most beautiful 250 GT of the series?  For me it has to be between the 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta or the 250GT SWB Berlinetta.  Ok, I missed out the 250 GTO, but for me the 250 GTO it is just not as beautiful, but of course I would like to own any of them.