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www.QV500.com - Ferrari 250 GT Boano Part 2: 250 GT Boano |
 Flush rear wings were a new Boano feature |
As mentioned in Part 1, production of Ferrari's 250 GT bodywork was transferred from Pinin Farina in Turin to Boano in Grugliasco. The Boano 250's marked a further stride by Ferrari towards offering a more standardised model that could be sold in increasingly large numbers. Retaining the Tipo 508, 2600mm wheelbase chassis, it was the bodywork and engine's that were subtly upgraded. Most notable was the arrival of Ferrari's new Tipo 128 B and 128 C (single distributor) 60° V12 engines, again derived from Colombo's original design and fitted to all but the earliest (believed nine) examples. |
| Although a new type number was given to this unit, displacement was identical to the outgoing Tipo 112 at 2953cc, the real difference lying in it's stronger con rods and other assorted internals. Compression was varied between 8.5:1 and 8.8:1, three twin choke Weber 36 DCF downdraught carburettors helping produce between 220 and 240bhp at 7000rpm. Once again, the four-speed all-synchromesh gearbox was used in the interests of comfort rather than Ferrari's five-speed competition oriented crash box. The Pinin Farina-designed, Boano-fabricated bodywork was constructed primarily from steel with aluminium for the bonnet and boot. One feature unique to the Pinin Farina-bodied cars had been their kick up rear wings, these now lying flush on all Boano-fabricated versions. Production was already well underway at Grugliasco by the time a Boano-built 250 GT made it's show debut in October 1956 at the Paris Salon. It continued for around twelve months and, in that time, around 60 steel-bodied cars were produced, the chassis numbers of which are indexed below. A handful of special order, lightweight aluminium-bodied examples were also constructed, some of these cars getting hot competition specification motors. However, few were ever involved in any really serious events, these 250 GT's always having been conceptualised with fast road and high-speed touring use in mind rather than as weekend racers. |
 A 1956 Boano in competition during 1963 |
We believe that 15 examples were completed with lightweight bodies, the chassis numbers of which are also listed below. By mid 1957, Mario Boano had been lured to FIAT, accepting a position as the head of the Turinese manufacturers new styling department. With regard to the works that had previously been run under his own name, they were taken over by Pollo and son in law Ellena, the latter of which would the give his name to the re-branded firm. By the time the last Boano-bodied 250 GT was completed, 74 Pinin Farina designed examples had been built along with two special order cars that were drawn up in house (see part 3). |
| Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina by Boano (Steel-Bodied, Low Roof) Chassis Index | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Note: It seems highly probable that the first eight chassis numbers lister above, 0437 through 0459, may never have been built. No factory records exist for these cars and traces of only three customers could be found - all of whom actually received cars with later chassis numbers. Maybe these were originally allocated to Pinin Farina then and simply forgotten about when production was transferred to Boano. Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina by Boano (Aluminium-Bodied, Low Roof) Chassis Index |
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