www.QV500.com - Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso Part 2: Lusso of Special Interest
 

The Lusso prototype with unique tail lights		 Pininfarina would occasionally carry out bespoke body modifications for special customers, some Lusso's leaving the Turin plant with covered headlights, others entire GTO style front ends. Larger rear spoilers were also periodically fitted along with supplementary side vents in varying styles, but genuine examples originally equipped as such are exceptionally rare and must not be confused with aftermarket, non-factory modifications that compromise originality and often look plain awful. One particularly special example was constructed on chassis 4335 GT, this vehicle actually being completed for the personal use of Mr Pininfarina himself.
   
From the outset, this car was designed and built with a number of aesthetic differences to the stock model. These included new door catches, drivers side glass with no front quarter window and an engine blister not ending in the meshed grille of standard models but declining to flush. The exact length of time that 4335 GT remained in this configuration is unknown but it couldn't have been that long as it was subsequently displayed at the 1964 London Motor Show with further modifications having been carried out. Although confined primarily to the front of the car, chassis 4335 GT’s identity was fundamentally altered thanks to an elongated nose and headlights now set back and covered by clear plastic cowls. A smaller, more oval egg-crate grille was located between the new headlights and re-profiled tip. Combining many cues that would be seen on subsequent Ferrari's whilst retaining all the elegance of the basic Lusso, the whereabouts of 4335 GT is currently unknown. In addition, three Competizione versions were modified in period with six carburettors and GTO cam timing.
 

5367 GT being hillclimbed in Europe, 1964		 One of these was chassis 5367 GT, the 1964 Geneva Salon car that had been acquired by Herbie Muller. He had it prepared for competition by Garage Monteverdi, the Swiss Ferrari importers fitting six factory-supplied Weber 38 DCN carbs and GTO camshafts. Muller contested a number of European Hillclimb Championships with the car that year, his best results having been a second in class at the Freiburg-Schauinsland event and fourth on the Sierra Montana Crans event. Finally, 24th overall and fifth in class on the gruelling Tour de France was just another illustration of the Lusso's ability.