Following in the footsteps of the 275 GTS, the 330 GTS was designed with the intension of providing Ferrari’s best customers with the finest open-top motoring experience that money could buy. Fast, elegant, and practical, the 330 GTS left owners wanting for nothing, which only solidified Ferrari’s reputation as the finest builder of grand touring cars.

First unveiled to the public at the Paris Motor Show in October of 1966, its coachwork was unmistakably Pininfarina and inspired by the 275 GTS and other Ferraris before it. Characterized by its shallow, egg-crate oval grille and triple louvered vents just aft of the front wheels, as well as its tapered tail that was first seen on the 275 GTS, this was sporting Italian elegance at its best. Boasting a beautifully trimmed interior with twin leather bucket seats and a wood-rimmed aluminium steering wheel, Ferrari owners would feel right at home. With a spacious boot, this was the perfect vehicle for an extended road trip in the summer months.

Of course, this would not be a true Ferrari if performance were overlooked. Depress the accelerator pedal and the 330 GTS springs to life, capable of completing a quarter mile dash in just 15 seconds at 100 mph, leading to a top speed of 150 mph. Only 99 330 GTSs had been built when production concluded in late 1968 compared to 598 330 GTCs, making it considerably rarer than its closed counterpart. Furthermore, the 330 GTS is twice as rare as its older sibling, the 275 GTS, of which 200 examples were manufactured.

Produced in April of 1967, chassis number 9781 was finished in the seldom seen and highly compelling shade of Nocciola (19397 M) over a Nero Franzi interior, just as it appears today. A United States delivery example, it was shipped new to Luigi Chinetti Motors in Greenwich, Connecticut, later in 1967 and sold that year to its first owner, Gerald Martin of New York City. Martin owned the car for the following nine years, trading it in to Chinetti in 1976. Chinetti sold the car to its second owner, Jim Hughes, who shipped the car across the country to his home in Alamo, California.

Hughes sold chassis number 9781 to its third owner, Glen Burkett, a pharmaceutical sales manager, in June of 1983. Burkett also lived in Alamo but later moved to nearby Danville. In his ownership, the car was repainted yellow. During his ownership, the car was shown a number of times at Ferrari events in California, including the 1984 Ferrari Owners Club International Meeting and Concours at the Rancho Canada Golf Club, as well as the Vintage Ferrari Concours in 1992, 1993, 1996, and 1998. By 1994, the car was listed as showing 46,000 miles on its odometer, according to Ferrari historian Marcel Massini.

Unfortunately, sometime in the late 1990s in Burkett’s ownership, chassis number 9781 was involved in an accident during a hill climb in Virginia. Immediately thereafter, the 330 GTS was fully professionally repaired by European Auto Restoration Inc. of Costa Mesa, California. Following the repairs, the car was sold to Ron Yagoda of Scottsdale, Arizona. Yagoda retained the car for a few more years, selling it to Frank Boucher of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2011.

In 2014, after Boucher’s ownership, it was decided to do a professional, no-expenses spared, body-off restoration. The cost of the restoration exceeded $400,000 and resulted in one of the finest restorations of a 330 GTS. Although chassis number 9781 has not been shown in a Ferrari competition since the completion of the restoration, it would be hard to think it could take anything but a platinum award in any Ferrari concours.

European Collectibles of Newport Beach, California, deserves high praise for its meticulous body restoration and return to its original colour scheme. Further accolades go to Chris Dugan for the engine re-build and drivetrain, which was carefully inspected upon completion for accuracy and quality. The suspension was fully rebuilt and all-new rubber bushings were fitted with new brakes. Cosmetically, all chrome parts were re-chromed. The same attention to detail was furnished upon the interior and today, the car presents as new throughout. In addition to receipts for its most recent restoration, a set of books and tools accompany this extraordinary 330 GTS.

A true “gentleman’s Ferrari” in every sense, the 330 GTS still remains just as desirable today as it was on the day it was first shown to the public. Few automotive experiences can top driving a twelve-cylinder Ferrari with the top down on a warm summer’s day, and as a model intended for crossing continents at high speeds, each additional mile is sure to be better than the last. Presented in seldom seen colours, this 330 GTS would be the perfect warm-weather cruiser or show car, sure to only attract the most favourable of compliments while out and about.