1965 Ferrari 275 GTS
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
With only 200 having left the Maranello factory between 1964 and 1966, the Ferrari 275 GTS is already a very rare car, but chassis number 07585 is part of an even smaller group because it’s one of only 14 that were built in right-hand-drive form. Amazingly, it has also had only one owner since it was supplied new in 1965.
The British-based enthusiast – who was then still in his early 20s – chose to collect his 275 GTS from Italy. The history file includes an incredibly evocative set of photographs from that trip, showing the Ferrari – in its original colour of Argento and registered on the export plate ‘EE 02324’ – in Modena and then in the mountains on its way back across Europe.
Also part of its file is the original Italian ‘carta di circolazione’, which was issued in the owner’s name in Bologna on 27 August 1965.
He then moved to the US and took the Ferrari with him, and it also accompanied him when he returned to the UK in 1967. It was first registered here in September of that year and has been in the UK ever since.
During the early 2000s, it was treated to a full restoration by a marque specialist, a process that cost almost £100,000 and involved respraying the car in its current shade of red. Since then, the Ferrari has been used only sparingly and had a spell in professional storage, and it was displayed at the 2014 Classic and Supercar Pageant in St John’s Wood, London.
It comes with its factory hardtop, its owner’s handbook in its original wallet, and even a copy of a sheet entitled ‘Brief Instructions for Operation and Maintenance 275/GTS Spyder Ferrari in Advance of Official Printed Instruction Manual’.
With its blend of timeless Pininfarina styling and sonorous, powerful V12 engine, the 275 GTS is an extremely coveted model that was built during a golden period for Ferrari. Not only was the legendary Scuderia enjoying huge success in Formula 1 and endurance races such as the Le Mans 24 Hours, it was also producing some of its most famous road cars.
This particular 275 GTS not only embodies all of that history, it also represents an incredibly rare opportunity to acquire a one-owner-from-new, right-hand-drive example of this highly collectible Ferrari.
MODEL HISTORY
The 275 was introduced in 1964 as both the GTB coupé and the GTS convertible, and was Ferrari’s replacement for the legendary 250 series. Underneath the bonnet was an updated 3.3-litre version of Gioachino Colombo’s famous 60-degree V12 engine, running on a trio of Weber carburettors and producing a quoted 260bhp.
As per Ferrari tradition, the model name came from the capacity of each individual cylinder, the 77mm bore and 58.8mm stroke adding up to 275cc.
Other developments included the use of a five-speed transaxle and all-round independent suspension. The latter was achieved via double wishbones and was a first for Ferrari road cars, which had previously used a live rear axle. Steering was via a rack-and-pinion set-up, Dunlop disc brakes were employed all round, and Borrani wire wheels were fitted.
The elegant styling of the GTS was the work of Pininfarina and was very different from the GTB, with its exposed headlamps and overall outline evoking instead the earlier 250 GT Cabriolet Series 2.
When Road & Track magazine tested a 275 GTS, it recorded a 0-60mph time of 7.2 seconds and sought out the unlimited roads of Nevada, where its writer noted that the Ferrari ‘fairly sailed along at true speeds of 100-110mph for hour after hour’. The car’s top speed was nearly 150mph and the whole experience was summed up with the line, ‘Those who like driving owe themselves at least one of these’.
Ferrari built only 200 examples of the 275 GTS before it was replaced by the 4-litre 330 GTS in 1966. The 275 GTB, meanwhile, was fitted with a new four-cam version of the 3.3-litre V12 and lived on until 1968, when it was replaced by the 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’.