The rarest and most amazing of the 1950s coachbuilding goodness

Gorgeous ONES - Ferrari as a well-known brand and has long experience in producing many of the best cars with the emblematic prancing horse. Especially in the 1950s which can be called the golden age or the years full of miracles, where Ferrari and coachbuilding overlapped to produce some of the most spectacular automotive creations of all time. 

The Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale could be said as the finest, rarest and most amazing of the 1950s coachbuilding goodness. (Picture from: ClassidDriver)

At that time, before Pinin Farina was crowned to become the default designer for Ferrari road cars, there was Vignale who had time to design and manufacture the bodies of around 150 cars with the prancing horse emblem in between 1950 to 1954. All of those were made individually by hand, and so for one Vignale design was almost never built in quantities greater than ten.

The Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale is featured with the inset headlights with pronounced ‘eyebrows’ as well as deeply recessed indicators in the front wings. (Picture from: ClassidDriver)

And this following model, the Ferrari 250 Europa was only twenty-two examples ever built, with only four units bodied by Vignale, and known also the last Vignale-bodied Ferrari car creation could be said as the finest, rarest and most amazing of the 1950s coachbuilding goodness.

And related to the name, it seems that Ferrari was the first to pin the Europa name on its car model, long before Giotto Bizzarrini built the Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa, and Collin Chapman with his Lotus Europa models.

The Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale featured with a long hood and short cabin as a sign for sporty and elegant two-door coupe style. (Picture from: ClassidDriver)

As quoted from Autofun, the first Vignale-bodied cars were built based on the Ferrari 340 Mexico chassis, which later moved production to Pininfarina by building a 2-seater cabriolet version. Meanwhile, there are also clear styling cues related to the Ferrari 375 America, which seems to share the same chassis with it.

The cars were then produced with odd chassis numbers for road vehicles, while the racing versions featured even numbers. Not only that, usually the racing cars featured aluminum bodies, but later, some private owners also commissioned lighter bodyworks for road models.

The Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale's body bursting with design flourishes, such as the chrome-accented vents located just ahead of the doors and the chrome strip that wraps from the front arches towards the boot. (Picture from: ClassidDriver)

As the characteristic of Vignale's work attached on the Ferrari 250 Europa are the inset headlights with pronounced ‘eyebrows’ as well as deeply recessed indicators in the front wings. Additionally, the body of the coupe bursting with design flourishes, such as the chrome-accented vents located just ahead of the doors and the chrome strip that wraps from the front arches towards the boot, emphasising this Ferrari’s length.

Even though the Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale was actually built as a 2+2 vehicle, most of the rear seat space can also function as padded shelf for luggage. (Picture from: ClassidDriver)

The car was first introduced to the public at the Paris Motor Show1953, in which the Ferrari 250 Europa was billed as a car designed for new European rules and preferences. As You've seen, the car featured with a long hood and short cabin as a sign for sporty and elegant two-door coupe style. Even though it's actually built as a 2+2 vehicle, most of the rear seat space can also function as padded shelf for luggage.

The Ferrari 250 Europa is powered by an iconic Aurelio Lampredi designed 3,000 cc naturally-aspirated long block V12 engine coupled with 4- speed manual transmission system. (Picture from: AutoFun)

Not only that, the mechanical part is no less special, where the Ferrari 250 Europa is powered by an iconic Aurelio Lampredi designed 3,000 cc engine featured with a long block specifically designed to have a large and powerful enough naturally-aspirated V12 drivetrain, so capable to make the Ferrari's racecars competitive run at the F1 arena back then. And it sounds nothing like other Ferrari V12s coupled with 4-speed manual transmission system.

The Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale applied an independent suspension system at the front, with double wishbones and transverse leaf springs which are then replaced with individual coil springs. (Picture from: ClassidDriver)

As for the legs, this Ferrari 250 Europa applies an independent suspension system at the front, with double wishbones and transverse leaf springs which are then replaced with individual coil springs. While the rear axle is rigid with leaf springs and hydraulic dampers. Furthermore, to reduce and stop the car's running speed, a hydraulically-operated drum brake system was installed and placed at the four corners of the car's feet. 

Even though it was considered a fast car back then, it was more a GT vehicle than a sports car. In 1954, the Ferrari 250 Europa was renamed the 250 Europa GT, and in the end became known as the Ferrari 250 GT, which later one of them managed to set a record as one of the most expensive classic cars in the world. Meanwhile, specifically for the 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa by Vignale, the price tag touched figures of the US $ 4,800.000 (approx Rp. 73 billions) back in January 2023. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | FERRARI | CLASSICDRIVER | AUTOFUN ]

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