The number of Ferrari 250 Europa's built was only around 20 but the next car to come out of the Ferrari factory would be the Ferrari 250 GT, a car which enabled Ferrari to once and for all establish itself as a serious builder of cars for the road as it spawned a number of different versions including the gorgeous 'California' and the mighty GTO. The Ferrari 250 GT debuted in 1954 and by the time production ended in 1962 with the GT Berlinetta Lusso, some 2500 examples had been built, although some short wheelbase models were still being turned out as late as 1964.

All versions of the 250 GT sat on a large diameter ladder type tubular frame which measured 102.3 inches in length, except the California, GTB and GTO which sat on a shorter wheelbase of 94.5 inches. Consequently, the early models were known as long wheelbase models, even though they were quite a bit longer than the 250 Europa which they replaced.

The 250GT series of cars were also the first to receive the acclaimed "Colombo" V12 engine, which displaced 2953cc.This engine was an evolution of the race engine which first appeared in the 250MM. It was shorter and lighter than the "Lampredi" power plant it replaced.

Horsepower started off at 220 but managed to get as high as 300 in the later competition models. It was with the 250 GT that Ferrari finally gave in to pressure regarding brakes too. In 1959 the Ferrari 250 GT came with disc brakes as standard.

Early on in the production run, Ferrari 250's were good for about 130mph but this rose to about 155mph by series end. The sprint time to 60 was less than 8 seconds.

All the bodies were designed by Italian coach builders, mainly Pinin Farina, but some were also designed by Vignale.