In the late 1950s a small batch of Ferrari 250 GT Coupés found their way into the workshop of Carrozzeria Ellena – a small coachbuilder previously named Boano after its founder, Mario Boano.
Mario was recruited by Fiat, so he handed the reins of the coachbuiling to his son-in-law Ezio Ellena, who partnered with Luciano Pollo and called the new enterprise “Carrozzeria Ellena”. The Ferrari 250 GTs produced by Ellena are instantly recognisable thanks to the slightly higher roofline and the lack of vent windows in the doors, the styling of the Ellena is considered by many Ferrari purists to be one of the cleanest of the 250s with the best ergonomics.
Although it was intended as a GT car, the Ellena has serious performance chops. It was capable of doing the 0-62 mph dash in 5.9 seconds – a staggeringly quick time in the era, in fact it would have been favourably comparable with many race cars at the time. This speed was thanks to its 240bhp 2953cc SOHC allow V12 with triple Weber carburettors and a 4-speed all synchromesh transmission.
The handling characteristics of all the 250 GTs were excellent and the Ellena was no exception, it sits on independent front suspension with unequal length wishbones, coil springs, and tubular shock absorbers, and has a live rear axle with leaf springs, Houdaille shock absorbers with twin trailing arms. Unusually for the 1950s the Ellena is also fitted with 4-wheel disc brakes – giving it better stopping performance than almost anything else on the road when it was released.
Despite its rarity the Ferrari 250 GT by Ellena is still one of the most affordable cars from the 250 series, though it’s important to point out that I’m using the word affordable rather loosely here – it’s still going to cost its new owner somewhere in the $420,000 to $505,000 USD range.
If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid on it at the Paris Auction on the 4th of February, you can click here to visit RM Auctions.
Photo Credits: Tom Wood ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions
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