1954 Ferrari 250 Europa GT

POA

One of just 28 Pinin Farina Coupes built
Retains matching numbers engine
Elegant original colours of Azzuro Duco with Grigio roof
Significant mechanical overhaul by Bonini
Mille Miglia Registro certified until 2029

When Ferrari launched the 250 Europa in 1953, the first such model to be given the ‘250’ designation, it would have been unthinkable that such a dynasty – including the likes of the TdF, SWB and GTO – would follow. That initial batch of just 22 cars, identified by their ‘EU’ chassis number suffixes, featured the Lampredi 3-litre V12, before the improved Europa GT was unveiled a year later.

Now identified with ‘GT’ chassis number suffixes, the new 250 Europa GT boasted 20bhp more thanks to what has become one of the world’s most famous engines: the Colombo 3-litre V12. Just 35 of this second generation were built in total.

The 250 Europa GT would have been among the most exclusive means of travel in 1954 – the de Havilland Comet was just two years into fare-paying service as the world’s first jet liner at the time – and the roll call of owners included the Belgian Royal family, Baron de Rothschild and André Dubonnet. Gentlemen racers Olivier Gendebien and Alfonso de Portago were also among the select few.

Chassis 0377GT was destined for Jan de Vroom, the dashing beneficiary of the reclusive and exceptionally wealthy (and married) Marquesa Margaret Strong de Cuevas: a Rockefeller heiress. “As the friendship grew, so did de Vroom’s store of acquisitions,” said Vanity Fair in 1987. “He was a sportsman, and through Margaret de Cuevas’s bounty he soon owned a sleek sailing boat, a fleet of Ferrari cars, a Rolls Royce, and—briefly, until it crashed—an airplane.”

Completed on 26th November 1954, 0377GT was one of just 28 Europa GTs built with Pinin Farina Coupe coachwork. Finished in two-tone Grigio over Azzurro Duco, with Beige leather, the handsome 250 Europa GT was dispatched to de Vroom’s summer home in Cannes, where it would have served as a supremely elegant gentleman’s express. Within just a few years of buying the Europa GT de Vroom, along with American Tobacco heir George Arents, embedded himself further within Ferrari and made the leap from car-owner to team-backer by providing Luigi Chinetti the finances to create the North American Racing Team.

With de Vroom frequently travelling between Europe and the USA, no doubt on the coattails of his Rockerfeller patron, it’s likely that his 250 Europa GT saw only occasional use. By 1970 it was in storage in Italy, before being exported to the USA by an oil tanker captain. Trading hands between a small number of connoisseurs in the 1970s, 0377GT found a longer-term home with significant Ferrari collector Dennis Machul in the 1980s.

Fully restored and repainted burgundy in Machul’s ownership, 0377GT became a regular entrant at Ferrari Club events and concours, as well as being enjoyed as intended on road tours such as the Colorado Grand. In 1992 Cavallino magazine profiled the car in a full colour feature and shortly after the car was sold to Todd Morici, before being acquired by a private collection towards the end of the 1990s. In this lengthy ownership, 0377GT was rightly returned to its correct and attractive colour scheme.

Bought for the current owner’s world-class collection in 2022, the Ferrari was UK-registered and sent to Autofficina Bonini for full mechanical preparation works ahead of an inaugural run on the Mille Miglia Storica. Making sure that nothing would be left to chance, over €130k was spent on the overhaul of the Europa GT. A successful inaugural run on the Mille’ confirmed the Europa GT’s status as an ultimate grand touring car, while a European concours debut at Hampton Court Palace later in 2023 demonstrated 0377GT’s enduring elegance and popularity.