Lot 241

Monterey 2017

1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy by Scaglietti

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$3,575,000 USD | Sold

United States | Monterey, California

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Chassis No.
07933
Engine No.
07933
Gearbox No.
421
  • Ferrari Classiche certified
  • Factory alloy body, long-nose, six carburetors, and “interim” driveshaft
  • Recent, correct restoration; offered with books and tools
  • Well-known ownership history; documented by marque historian Marcel Massini
  • A superb 275 GTB/6C in a most desirable specification
Please note that Internet bidding is not available for this lot. Interested parties that are unable to attend the sale may register to bid by telephone or place a commission bid online at rmsothebys.com.

Today’s collectors divide the 275 GTBs into early (short-nose) and late (long-nose) cars. As with many things Ferrari, the reality is not so simple. While high-volume carmakers produced endless quantities of nearly identical cars, Ferraris were still built – to an astonishing degree – by hand. As improvements were devised, they were incorporated into production, often with the very next car. In other cases, features from earlier production would appear on later cars, to the delight of their owners and to the consternation of historians. The changeover to a longer nose design, introduced at the 1965 Paris Salon, was the result of front-end lift at high speed.

Another common point of differentiation is driveshaft configuration. The earliest cars were fitted with an open Hotchkiss-style normal U-joint and driveshaft setup, the perfect alignment of which was crucial to avoid vibration. Unfortunately, the driveline could become misaligned over time, and sorting it out required skill and special training. Ferrari therefore switched to a driveshaft and constant velocity (CV) joint setup with a center bearing (referred to as the “interim” setup), which made the alignment process much simpler.

This particular 275 GTB/6C, chassis 07933, is an “interim” car with one of the most desirable specifications available – a lightweight alloy body, long-nose, and six carburetors. The alloy-bodied cars are, aside from the competition cars, the most desirable variants. The body was constructed in lightweight aluminium, like the competition cars, to save weight and thereby improve performance. With its lightweight alloy body and six-carburetor setup, this car easily has the same performance as the next evolution of the 275 range, the GTB/4.

Marcel Massini’s records note that the car was delivered to Luigi Chinetti Motors of Greenwich on 22 October 1965, and the following month was officially sold to Judge Samuel Leibowitz, a name that frequently appears in Chinetti records as a “straw man” used to finance the ordering of Ferraris. In May of 1966 it was passed by Chinetti to Dick Gilberti Motors of Reading, Pennsylvania, noted on Chinetti’s order sheet as having an alloy body and six carburetors, as well as an FM radio, and finished in silver.

Gerald Bowes, an industrialist from Villanova, Pennsylvania, acquired the car in the 1970s and would maintain it for most of the decade. In 1979 he sold the Ferrari to Phil Tegtmeier, also of Villanova, who would maintain it for nearly 20 years before selling it to the local Porsche dealer in 1998. After being advertised several times in 1999, it was sold to well-known Miami Toyota dealer and collector, Craig Zinn.

By 2002 the car was owned by E.J. Van Kouwen, a Dutch owner who passed it later that year to Guus Bierman, who registered it as AL-06-064. Mr. Bierman exhibited the car at the Uwe Meissner Modena Motorsport Track Days at the Nürburgring in July 2003, and is believed to have retained it until 2006, when it was sold to Mario Bernardi of Germany. Two years later the Ferrari was again sold, to shoe store magnate Andreas Schläwicke, from whom it was acquired by the current owner in 2010.

The consignor drove the 275 GTB/6C on several events, including the XXIII Tour Auto Optic 2000 in both 2013 and 2014, and several rallies in South America, then commissioned its full cosmetic restoration, including the correct finish of Argento, as was used in 1965, with a new Blu leather interior. In its restored form it was shown at the XXV Palm Beach Cavallino Classic in 2016. Today it is complete with its Ferrari Classiche Red Book certification, as well as proper sets of books and tools.

This is a superb 275 GTB/6C, with all of the best, most desirable features, and is ready for continued show success or rallying enjoyment.