The story says that the Ferrari 250 GTO was supposed to be named simply the Ferrari 250 GT. It seems that when the sports car was track-homologated, the nameplate was changed on papers with GTO - “o” from “omologata” in Italian.

The Ferrari 250 GT Coupe was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1954. It was the first attempt of the Italian manufacturer to build a car for the normal motorist.

Unveiled at the 1953 Paris Motor Show, the Ferrari 250 Europa was a car designed for the new European rules and preferences. It used a 3.0-liter V12 based on a design for Formula One 3.3 L engine.