1963 Ferrari 250 GTL Lusso ‘Competizione’

Why Blouin chose to race a Lusso is a mystery, as by 1965 the era of the front-engine competition car was coming to an end

by John Apen

The Lusso is regarded as the most beautiful of all Pininfarina’s creations on the 250 GT chassis. It is a true Granturismo, combining high performance with contemporary levels of elegance. Chassis 4965GT left the factory in September 1963, destined for Paris dealer Franco-Britannic for delivery to Robert Blouin, who specified light blue (Azzurro) coachwork with red leather. Blouin decided to race his Lusso not merely at club level, as two others were, but at FIA Championship events He first campaigned it in the Grand Rallye de l’Ouest in France in March 1964. On 17 May, Blouin drove in the grueling Grand Prix de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium but DNF’d. One week later he raced, this time at Montlhéry for the Prix de Paris, with unknown results. On May 9, 1965, he entered the Lusso in its most important event, the Targa Florio, with a co-driver named Sauer. While they completed the ten 44-mile laps, they were not classified, as Jess Pourret relates in his...