REFINING A TRUE THOROUGHBRED

As one of the marque’s most dynamic classic roadgoing models, the Ferrari 275 GTB has long been celebrated for its touring capabilities, race-bred performance, and captivating aesthetics. Officially introduced at the Paris Salon in October 1964, the new berlinetta was powered by a 3.3-litre development of the Colombo-designed short-block V-12 engine. It was Maranello’s first road car to be equipped with independent rear suspension and a weight-saving transaxle. Scaglietti’s coachwork to a Pininfarina design was a clear evolution of the breathtakingly beautiful 250 GTO, featuring a long front deck with covered headlamps, a raked windscreen, and pronounced rear haunches.

After several months of feedback, Ferrari conducted a mild redesign of the 275 GTB during mid-1965. Most obviously, the nose was lengthened to reduce front-end lift at high speed. In addition, a new transmission design with CV joints was implemented to prevent vibrations that had often developed with the original solid propshaft configuration. Unfortunately, this modification did not entirely solve the vibration problem so, beginning with chassis number 08305, a solid torque tube was introduced. This solution proved to be much more effective, becoming the standard configuration through remaining two-cam production, as well as with the four-cam cars that followed.

Ferrari offered its sporting clientele several options that now distinguish certain 275 examples with an increased performance envelope, rarity, and corresponding collectability. These primarily included a six-carburettor intake, as opposed to the standard three-carburettor set-up. The rare 275 examples that were so equipped are now recognised with the special nomenclature of “275 GTB/6C”. They hold a special cachet among the other 275 examples, as the ultimate specification of an already-potent Prancing Horse.

CERTIFIED AND SILVER CLAD

Ideally configured with long-nose coachwork and a torque tube propshaft, and desirably specified with six carburettors, this late-production two-cam 275 GTB is a particularly fetching example. According to the research of model authority and respected collector Dyke Ridgley, chassis number 08895 is the 11th-from-last two-cam built; it is one of just 73 two-cam long-nose cars that were equipped with six carburettors. Its elevated state of trim was further bolstered with a full leather interior, making the car as luxurious as it was powerful.

A history on file by marque expert Marcel Massini indicates that the 275 GTB was specified for the European market with instruments in kilometres and finished in the elegant colour combination of Argento Metallizzato paint over an interior swathed in Nero leather by Connolly. Completing assembly in August 1966, the berlinetta was sold through official dealer Dino Ravasio & Sons of Verona, Italy to Ermanno Arabbi, an enthusiast residing in Vicenza.

Registered in Vicenza in September 1966, the Ferrari was then issued a certificate of origin. Mr Arabbi reportedly enjoyed running the six-carburettor berlinetta at various racing circuits. Steadily adding kilometres to the odometer at three service visits over the next 18 months at the Ferrari factory’s Assistenza Clienti in Modena certainly suggest that the owner was driving the car with verve, while ensuring it remained in an optimal state of tune.

By September 1967, Mr Arabbi decided to sell the Ferrari. It was soon spotted by Serge Rémy Le Grou, a French property owner and horse breeder who was travelling through Italy. Also a sports car enthusiast, Mr Le Grou immediately made an offer and the GTB became his steed of choice for touring excursions around Europe, reportedly often with his girlfriend in tow.

According to an anecdote collected by French automotive researcher Marc Rabineau in 2020, Mr Le Grou was touring through Italy in the 275 on one occasion when a tyre blew out. As the incident occurred not far from Maranello, the owner decided to take his complaint to the factory and was surprised to find Enzo Ferrari himself fielding his client visit. But in typical fashion, Il Commendatore peremptorily dismissed the owner’s tyre concerns while claiming the Ferrari had saved his life, leaving the mystified Le Grou at a loss for words.

Mr Le Grou eventually refinished the coachwork in Argento Metallizzato before putting the car in a more-or-less permanent state of storage in the mid-1980s at one of his Parisian garages, where it remained for 15 years. In 2000, following 33 years of single ownership, the two-owner, barn find-state Ferrari was discovered by a British dealer. They quickly seized the opportunity to acquire a rare and highly original GTB/6C. After being recommissioned for road use, the 275 was sold through a respected German dealer to a dentist based in Wettingen, Switzerland. Under this owner’s care, the coachwork was repainted again in 2002 in the factory-correct shade of Argento Metallizzato.

In April 2009, the Ferrari was factory-certified with a Ferrari Classiche “Red Book”. This authenticated the presence of the matching-numbers engine and coachwork, while the gearbox was deemed to be of the correct type. One month later, the 275 was offered at RM Auctions’ “Leggenda e Passione” flagship sale held at the Ferrari factory in Maranello, where it was purchased by an English enthusiast.

Upon shipping the car to the United Kingdom, the new owner regularly serviced the GTB, starting with a bout by Incarnation Ltd in July 2009. A year later, the workshop Autofficina Bonini Carlo conducted some €25,000-worth of work while preparing the car for event use. The owner then enjoyed the berlinetta on the historic hill climb at Ollon-Villars, Switzerland in September 2010 before a further service by Hoyle-Fox Classics Ltd was conducted in September 2012. The Ferrari was acquired by the consigning owner in 2020.

As a Classiche-certified, six-carburettor 275 GTB that retains its matching-numbers engine, and being correctly finished in the original shade of Argento Metallizzato, chassis 08895 is surely one of the most desirable long-nose 275 examples one might hope to encounter. Additionally offered with a tool roll and owner’s manual, this striking high-performance berlinetta is poised for a triumphant re-entry to the Ferrari niche, ideal for presentation at regional concours d’elegance and club gatherings, or exhilarating drives on engaging thoroughfares.