Look at the sales results after any major classic car auction and you can guarantee that at least a couple of 1960s Ferraris will be at the top of the list, such as 250 GT SWB Berlinetta having just changed hands for $5 or $10 million, maybe more.
But there are a bunch of mostly lesser-known Ferraris from the same decade that you don’t need to be a billionaire to buy. Okay, being a millionaire can help; these are not cars that you can pick up at a price the new Toyota GR86although some were almost as cheap 20 years ago.
Compared to their more famous sisters, however, these Ferraris look like Craigslist bargains, costing one-tenth less than a 250 GT California Spider or 275 GTB, not to mention classic community deities like 250 LM and 250 GTO. According to Hagerty Insurance’s appraisal tool, most of the cars we’re talking about are available for under $500K in good, but not pre-owned condition, and some may be available for half that price.
So if you can afford a new supercar like a Ferrari 296 GTS or an SF90 Stradale, you’re also eligible for one of these older cars. And one of them can be yours for even less than $100,000, which is about the price of a Porsche Cayman S with tons of options.
Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina 1958-1960 $560,000-$600,000
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The car that helped transform Ferrari from a boutique car builder to something more serious looks as stoic as a Victorian butler compared to the sexy GTs and supercars that came later. But in official guise the GT PF is still a handsome car, and underneath the Pinino Farina bodywork (it didn’t become a word until 1961) is basically the same basic chassis and V12 engine found in cars like the more the famous 250 GTO and the California spider.
This is why many GT cars were gutted and converted to look like poster cars when prices were low in the 1980s and 1990s. That 250 name, by the way, refers to the 250cc capacity of each of the 12 cylinders of the 3.0-liter engine.
Ferrari 250 GT/E 1959-1963 $360,000-$410,000
The 250 GT/E was Ferrari’s first real shot at a production four-seater. The body of the Pininfarina fastback sat on a stretched 250 chassis and was powered by the same 237-horsepower (240 hp) Colombo V12 as the 250 PF two-seater.
Enzo himself was a fan of this classic GT which Girardo Notes Auction House was introduced not at the motor show, but at Le Mans, where it served as a course car, proving its sporting credentials. You could say that Purosangue’s story begins with the GT/E.
1963 Ferrari 330 America $450,000-500,000
Back in the early 1950s, Ferrari applied the America name to cars designed primarily for the US and equipped with V12 designed by Lampredi engines that were larger than the Columbo V12 in European models.
But by the time the 330 America arrived in 1963, essentially a 250 GT/E with more power, Ferrari had boosted the older Colombo’s displacement to 4.0 liters and removed the Lampredi V12. The newly enlarged Colombo motor produced 296 hp. (300 hp), which better carried the weight of the body two plus two. Only 50 were built, meaning they are almost as rare as the 250 GTO, but more affordable.
1964-67 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 $200,000-270,000
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Successor to America 330, 330 GT 2+2 received the same 4.0-liter V12 with a capacity of 296 hp. (300 hp) and practical two-plus-two seating, but advanced the game with improved brakes and suspension, and in later cars, power steering, air conditioning, and a five-speed gearbox.
These later 1965 cars also reverted to the more conventional dual headlight design, although there is something attractively menacing about the supposedly uglier quad headlights on the first series cars.
Ferrari 330 GTC 1966-68. $525,000-$600,000
The two-seater 330 GTC in the late 1960s Ferrari range between the 275 GTB (forefather of today’s 812 Superfast and over $2 million today) and the more comfort oriented 330 GT 2+2.
At three times the price of its 2+2 sibling, it looks expensive considering it has the same engine and similar styling. But mechanically it is much closer to sports 275which has a rear gearbox for better weight distribution and independent suspension on both sides.
1967-71 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 $185,000-210,000
Welcome to one of the biggest deals in the classic Ferrari world, the 365 GT 2+2. These beautiful long, low, luxury GTs were popular when they were new, about 800 were sold, but these days they don’t have many inches in the column, and judging by the crazy prices up to $250k, they don’t enjoy much demand.
Ferrari boosted the now 20-year-old Columbo V12 to 4.4 liters and 316 hp. (320 hp) which gave high performance, while air conditioning, power steering and auxiliary air conditioning made sure the comfort angle was covered equally well.
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona 1968-73 $500K-$1M
So far we’ve dealt with cars that may be unfamiliar to all but serious Ferrari fans, here’s one you’ll definitely recognize. The 365 GTB/4to give it its proper name, or Daytona to give it what everyone knows it by, is one of Ferrari’s most famous classic cars, but prices are still well below $1 million for all but the rare factory Spider and alloy in the highest condition – cars with a body.
The Daytona, which earned its nickname after Ferrari’s 1-2-3 victory at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours with the 330 P4 and 412 P, was the last large front-engined two-seater V12 sports car until 550 Maranello more than 20 years later. Its 4.4-liter V12 produced 347 hp. (352 hp), providing a top speed of 174 mph (280 km/h).
Ferrari Dino 206/246 GT 1967-74 $400,000-$600,000
Maranello’s first mid-engine production road car may not have had the manufacturer’s badges, but it was all Ferrari. The first was the 206 GT, which was launched in 1967 with an alloy body and a 2.0-liter V6 with a capacity of 178 hp. (180 hp). This was replaced in 1969 on 246 GTwhich looks almost identical, but switched to a slightly longer steel body and gained an extra 14 hp. (15 hp) to offset the weight gain.
Fiat Dino Spider $100,000-$150,000
Fiat? Okay, we cheated a little here, but maybe not as much as you think. both are beautiful Bertone designed Fiat Dino Coupe and Pininfarina’s voluptuous Dino Spider used the same 2.0-liter (and later 2.4-liter) V6 found in Ferrari’s Dino.
However, this connection is much deeper because since 1969 Ferrari has actually been building beautiful spiders at its factory in Maranello. A 1960s Ferrari-engined, Ferrari-built, Pinfirarini-designed two-seater roadster for just $100,000? The another Dino looks like a bargain to us.
Images: Mecum, Girardo & Co, RM Sotheby’s
https://www.carscoops.com/2022/07/10-sexy-60s-ferraris-you-dont-need-to-be-a-billionaire-to-buy/
