GRR

This Ferrari 250 Europa GT is the consummate all-rounder

21st January 2025
Adam Wilkins

There are few combinations in the automotive world that are evocative as Maranello mechanicals and Turin styling. The Pininfarina-penned Ferrari 250 Europa GT is a case in point, the effortlessly styled bodywork cloaking a luxurious interior and a Colombo V12 engine. Is there a car that would look more at home on the French Riviera? If you have the requisite £1.5million-£1.9million to meet the estimate, you could make this one yours at Bonhams|Cars’ forthcoming Scottsdale Auction.

Ferrari_250_Europa_7 copy.jpg

To the untrained eye, the second generation Europa GT appears very similar to its forebear, but the 1954 model heralded a host of upgrades under the skin. For one, the illustrious V12 engine has its power upped to 223PS (164kW) at a loftier 6,600rpm by borrowing from the competition spec 250 Mille Miglia. 

The suspension also came in for treatment. The final few Europa GTs produced had coil-sprung double wishbones. Advanced for the time, this set-up appeared on only the final fifteen Europa GTs. Allied to reduced weight, it made the huge Alfin drum brakes all the more effective.

This example has had its history extensively researched. It arrived at Pininfarina in September 1955 for its coachwork, making it the final Europa GT to be assembled. The chassis and engine numbers match those originally fitted, and post restoration it’s still in the Grigio Metallizato and Verde two-tone colour scheme it was originally specified with.

Ferrari_250_Europa_8.jpg
Ferrari_250_Europa_6.jpg
Ferrari_250_Europa_10.jpg
Ferrari_250_Europa_5.jpg
Ferrari_250_Europa_1.jpg

It was delivered new to Jaques Swaters, whose Garage Francorchamps was famed for its racing team. Before any trackside action, though, the Europa GT had its first public appointment at the 1956 Brussels Motor Show. A year later, the car was sold to Belgian Mr. W. Nilens who raced it at the Grand Prix de Spa that year. Archive photos of the race show the car with its Belgian numberplates in place, so he quite possibly drove it to and from the circuit.

Swaters continued to look after the car until 1966, when it was exported to the United States to new owners Jude Holcombe and Richard F. Merritt of Maryland. It remained in the USA before returning to Europe in the 1990s, but it crossed back over the Atlantic in the early 2000s.

Back in the States, the car was returned to its original colour scheme when it was discovered as the base coat during the stripdown. The restoration extended to a rebuild of the V12 engine and reupholstery, referring to the well preserved original for colour, pattern and detail.

bonhams scottsdale sale copy.jpg

Bonhams|Cars Scottsdale Auction

Find out more

Ferrari_250_Europa_9.jpg
Ferrari_250_Europa_4.jpg
Ferrari_250_Europa_2.jpg
Ferrari_250_Europa_3.jpg

Preened to as-new condition, the car was ready to be shown on the concours scene, and it has chalked up appearances at the Quail Motorsports Gathering and Cavallino Classic Ferrari event in Palm Beach. The most recent owner has stretched the car’s legs in events such as the California Mille. Its grand touring credentials means the Europa GT is equally at home on the road as it is the track, as emphasised by the way it used when it was new. Today, it will acquit itself just as well on a concours lawn.

After the hammer goes down at Scottsdale, we can’t help wondering whether the Europa will make one of its many journeys across the ocean to return to the continent from which it takes its name...

  • Bonhams|Cars

  • Ferrari

  • road

  • news

  • scottsdale

  • auction

  • 250 Europa GT

  • bonhams scottsdale auction preview MAIN 2.jpg

    News

    4 spectacular cars going for £1million at the Bonhams|Cars Scottsdale Auction

  • quail-lodge-auction-ferrari-250-europa-main.jpg

    News

    This Ferrari 250 Europa just sold for $2million

  • bonhams-quail-auction-2022-main.jpg

    News

    Seven cars set for $21.6million auction

Shop the Motorsport collection today

Shop Now
Goodwood image