The Shurlock Collection 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso

The Lusso, designated the 250 GT/L, was launched at the Paris Motor Show in October 1962 as the last of Ferrari’s hugely successful 250 range. As the name indicated, this was the luxury gran tourismo in the line-up, but in spite of its lavishly-appointed interior, comfortable driving position and ample luggage space on the quilted rear parcel shelf and in the boot, the Lusso was as adept at blasting through twisting Alpine passes as it was purring around the streets of Monte Carlo.

The reason for its crisp handling was down to its short wheelbase chassis design, inherited from two of Ferrari’s most successful race cars, the 250 SWB and the 250 GTO. But its sporting prowess was also thanks to its engine, the 3-litre, triple-carburettor version of Ferrari’s legendary Colombo V12, variants of which powered some of the greatest Ferraris ever, from the 125S and 125 F1 in the late 1940s right through to the Daytona in the 1970s and finally the 400 in the 1980s.

Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful Ferraris ever built, the Lusso’s Pininfarina-designed steel and aluminium body was built across the road from Ferrari’s Modena factory by coachbuilder Scaglietti, who had crafted the bodies of many of Ferrari’s most famous models since the late 1940s.

A total of 351 Lussos were built between 1963 and late 1964, and illustrious owners over the years have included Steve McQueen and Eric Clapton, and now no serious Ferrari collection is without a Lusso.