Introduced at the Brussels Motor Show of January 1964, Ferrari’s 330 GT 2+2 was the replacement for the outgoing 250 GT 2+2, and it notably elevated the prior four-seat platform with advanced mechanical elements and improved aesthetics. Most importantly, the new model received a larger and more powerful version of the Colombo short-block engine that displaced 4.0 liters and was good for 300 horsepower. Factory driver Mike Parkes was a key contributor to the 330’s development, even claiming credit for the eye-catching dual-headlamp front fascia. Single headlamps were adopted with the succeeding second-series cars that appeared in mid-1965, leaving just 625 examples that were built with the double-lamp design.

Chassis number 7515 claims an unusual identity as one of very few transition cars that share features of the first- and second-series 330 GT models. As one of the final Series I examples built, this car is clothed in Pininfarina’s handsome dual-headlight body style, complete with knock-off Borrani wire wheels. Mechanically, the 330 is equipped with some more developed features from the second-series cars, including suspended pedals rather than a floor-mounted pedal box and a five-speed gearbox rather than a four-speed with overdrive. This latter component endows chassis number 7515 with particularly long legs for extended high-speed cruising, a highly desirable attribute in a true GT car.

According to a history by marque historian Marcel Massini, this 330 2+2 was completed at the factory in July 1965 (equipped with air conditioning) and delivered new to Luigi Chinetti Motors. By 1973, the car was owned by Ewing Hunter, a co-owner of FAF Motorcars in Tucker, Georgia, the well-known dealership that was one of the collectable Ferrari hobby’s earliest American institutions. Passing to a chain of Illinois-based caretakers in the early 1980s, this 330 was owned by collector John Weinberger in 1987, by which time it had been repainted in Rosso. In 1992, while displaying just 25,000 original miles, the Ferrari was offered by esteemed collector Steve Levy of Riverwoods, Illinois.

Acquired in 2015 by the consignor, the minimally driven 330 GT 2+2 was treated to a sympathetic restoration that provided for a clutch overhaul, new motor mounts and master cylinder, rebuilt carburetors, new belts and hoses, and a partial rebuild of the engine with new piston rings, rod bearings, and valve guides. The paint and interior continue to present quite well, having been restored under a recent prior caretaker.

Currently displaying approximately 28,119 miles, which are believed to be original, chassis number 7515 is a beautifully restored example of the handsome first-series 330 GT. It would strongly complement any collection of touring sports cars and also provides a good entry to the hobby as a model that is almost certain to appreciate in coming years.