The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars and grand tourers built by Ferrari from 1952 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series includes many variants designed for road use or sports car racing. 250 series cars are characterized by their use of a Colombo V12 engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo. They were replaced by the 275 and 330 series cars. Similarities Most 250 road cars share the same two wheelbases, for short wheelbase (SWB) and for long wheelbase (LWB). Most convertibles used the SWB type. Nearly all 250s share the same Colombo Tipo 125 V12 engine. At , it was notable for its light weight and impressive output of up to in the Testa Rossa and GTO. The V12 weighed hundreds of pounds less than its chief competitors — for example, it was nearly half the weight of the Jaguar XK straight-6. Ferrari uses the displacement of a single cylinder as the model designation. The V12 propelled the Ferrari 250 racing cars to numerous victories. Racing models Typical of Ferrari, the Colombo V12 made its debut on the race track, with the racing 250s preceding the street cars by three years. 250 S The first 250 was the experimental 250 S berlinetta prototype entered in the 1952 Mille Miglia for Giovanni Bracco and Alfonso Rolfo. The Mercedes-Benz W194 racers of Rudolf Caracciola, Hermann Lang, and Karl Kling were faster on the long straights but the Ferrari made up sufficient ground in the hills and curves to win the race. The car was later entered at Le Mans and in the Carrera Panamericana. The 250 S used a wheelbase with a "Tuboscocca" tubular trellis frame. Suspension was by double wishbones at the front, with double longitudinal semi-elliptic springs locating the live axle at the rear. The car had the drum brakes and worm-and-sector steering typical of the period. The dry-sump 3.0 L () engine used three Weber 36DCF carburettors and was mated directly to a five-speed manual transmission. 250 MM Following the success of the 250 S in the Mille Miglia, Ferrari showed a more conventional chassis for the new 250 engine at the 1952 Paris Motor Show. Pinin Farina then created coupé bodywork which had a small grille, compact tail and panoramic rear window, and the new car was launched as the 250 MM (for Mille Miglia) at the 1953 Geneva Motor Show. Carrozzeria