“Classy” was the single word that came to mind when I came upon this stunning 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupe at the RM Auction display in downtown Monterey. Classy on a level not seen in modern Ferraris, which are more ostentatious than anything at this point. I mean just look at the rich two-tone color scheme and that sumptuous interior, this is a 50s-era Italian car in its finest form.

The 1953 250 Europa Coupe was actually the first Ferrari to use the “250” nomenclature, which later would encompass the most sought after Ferraris of all time. It was also the first dedicated Ferrari road-car, the genesis for a lineage of Ferrari Grand Tourers that continues to this day. The Europa Coupe you see here is one of only 21 examples produced, and it recently won its class at the 2014 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

The 250 Europa Coupe’s performance was quite good in the 1950s and still would be respectable today. Its 3.0L V12 engine produced 200hp and was hooked up to a 4 speed manual gearbox. A Subaru BRZ or Honda Civic Si make the same amount of horsepower today, and those are pretty quick cars, but this old Ferrari is also lighter than both of them. So should any custodian of one of the 21 Europa Coupes like to use their car on the road, they will still find it easy to keep up with traffic. Stopping, however, is a different issue, as Ferrari was slow to adopt disc brakes. So yea, this thing has drums.

I remember seeing a 250 Europa Coupe similar to this one in a magazine as a kid. I was spellbound by its elegance and sheer beauty. It’s no wonder this classic Ferrari dropped the hammer at $2,750,000 this summer in Monterey. With Ferrari values going through the roof, this stunning example is likely to be a great investment. Read more on its history here.

-Nick Walker