1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Speciale
In 1912, Giovanni Bertone founded Carrozzeria Bertone in Turin, Italy. The company’s main focus was automotive coachbuilding, design, and manufacturing. Giovanni struggled to keep the business alive during the wars and financial crises of the early 20th century, but in 1933, Giovanni’s son, Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone, began working for his father and quickly brought new life to the company.
By the early ’60s, with Nuccio in the driver’s seat, the company was building more than 30,000 cars a year and expanding rapidly. By this point, Carrozzeria Bertone had designed or manufactured cars for a large number of European brands—that is except for the legendary Ferrari.
In 1962, completely enamored with Ferrari cars, Nuccio took it upon himself to order a Ferrari 250GT SWB. He wanted to build the ultimate Ferrari and chose Giorgetto Giugiaro, a rookie designer at Carrozzeria Bertone, to help him do it. The result was this one-of-a-kind Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta Speciale.
Nuccio’s creation made its first public appearance in 1962 at the Geneva motor show. The media’s reaction was one of stunned delight, and Nuccio continued to enter the car in other shows and events throughout Europe, garnering endless praise along the way. Although he had gotten the media’s attention with his one-off marvel, he still hadn’t gotten Ferrari’s.
After sending a Christmas gift to Enzo Ferrari himself in 1962, Nuccio received a response complimenting him on his automotive passion. The letter was signed, “Your – if you permit me – friend, Enzo Ferrari.”
Eventually, Nuccio sold the 250GT, which traded hands several times over the next few years and eventually made its way to California. There, it was owned by a musician who drove it daily for 13 years adding nearly 100,000 miles to the odometer. Later, the car was sold to its current owner, a car collector from Mexico, who’s had it restored several times over the last three decades.
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Comments
Nice article!
#OuttaNowhere
Classic is so good 👌
I posted about this car in the past too, just photos though, but it’s beautiful mate, I didn’t know the full story.
The front of it looks like a 156 sharknose was that intended?