Ferrari 250 Europa

Ferrari 250 Europa at a glance

The 250 Europa is the first of the 250 road cars, which later included the 250 GT Tour de France and the 250 Testa Rossa racers. All Ferrari models are in the Ferrari catalogue.

History: Paris 1953

The 250 Europa replaced the 212 Inter as Ferrari's touring road car and made its debut at the Paris motor show in 1953. Its name followed Ferrari's system: 250 refers to the displacement of one cylinder, about 250 cc.

Under the skin the car was close to the 375 America. The two shared the chassis, the 2,800 mm wheelbase and most of the mechanical parts - only the engine was different. Because of this, two Europas were later converted to 375 America specification.

The Lampredi V12

The engine is what makes the 250 Europa unusual. Every other car in the 250 family used the V12 designed by Gioacchino Colombo. The Europa instead received a 2,963 cc V12 from Aurelio Lampredi's family of engines, based on a 3.3-litre Formula 1 design. It is "square", with a bore and stroke of 68 mm each, and breathes through three Weber 36DCF (or DCZ) carburettors. It produces 147 kW (200 PS) at 6,300 rpm and drives the rear wheels through a four-speed manual gearbox.

Depending on the rear-axle ratio, the top speed was estimated at between 180 and 217 km/h.

Coachwork: Pinin Farina and Vignale

Most 250 Europas were bodied by Pinin Farina, which by then had become Ferrari's main coachbuilder. A smaller number came from Vignale, with designs by Giovanni Michelotti. The two Wikipedia articles split the 22 cars slightly differently: one gives 18 Pinin Farina and 4 Vignale cars, the other 17 Pinin Farina coupés and one cabriolet, and four Vignale coupés and one cabriolet.

Several individual cars are well documented. Chassis 0295EU and 0297EU are fitted with Colombo engines; 0325EU has a full aluminium body; 0315AL and 0353AL were converted to 375 America specification. At auction, the Pinin Farina coupé 0349EU sold for €450,000 in 2010, and the Vignale coupé 0313EU for €2,871,000 in 2017.

The 250 Europa GT (1954–1955)

At the Paris motor show of 1954 Ferrari presented the successor, the 250 Europa GT. Its main change was the engine: it was the first road car to use the Colombo 250 V12, a wet-sump unit with three Weber 36DCZ3 carburettors and 162 kW (220 PS). The wheelbase was shortened to 2,600 mm on a conventional chassis.

The Europa GT was also the first Ferrari to carry the "Gran Turismo" name, which would be used on road Ferraris for decades. It ran on Stella Bianca 600-16 tyres and introduced vents in the front wings that became a standard styling cue of later 250 GTs. Coachbuilt Europa GTs, including a Pinin Farina coupé shown in Paris, were produced until 1956.

Timeline

Legacy

The 250 Europa is a transitional car: it carried the new 250 name but the older Lampredi engine and a long wheelbase. Its successor, the 250 Europa GT, began the Colombo-engined 250 GT line that ran through the California Spyder and the Lusso until 1964. Today the few surviving Europas are rare and highly valued collector cars. For the company's background see our history of Ferrari.