One of only a dozen 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C sports cars, and with a strong Italian racing history, will be offered at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach, California, sale in August, the auction house announced Thursday.
“We are thrilled to present this extremely desirable Ferrari at our Pebble Beach Auctions, as great 275 GTB/Cs rarely come up for sale,” David Brynan, a senior specialist for Gooding & Company, said in the news release. “These are exciting purpose-built competition cars from Ferrari’s golden age, and they are brilliant to drive – as fast and visceral as any thoroughbred racing car of the era, yet completely user-friendly and perfectly suited for the open road.
“This car, with its extensive Italian racing history, superb provenance, and sensational restoration by Motion Products, is a fantastic piece, truly a best-of-the-best example. Offered from a distinguished private collection, this GTB/C is all the more exciting because it has been kept out of the public eye for a decade and was last seen crossing the award ramp at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2007.”
The Gooding news release noted that the car produced during the height of the era of dual-purpose sports cars, cars that could be raced all-out but also driven for enjoyment on public roads.
Gooding noted that when the FIA would not homologate Ferrari’s mid-engine 250 LM for the 1965 season, the automaker produced three special competition cars based on the new 275 GTB. The cars had 250 LM-specification engines and lightened chassis. The cars were so successful that Ferrari produced a dozen more for 1966, the C in 275 GTB/C standing for competizione.
“These tailor-made GT cars included the best weight-saving techniques,” Gooding noted. “The bodies were among the thinnest aluminum shells ever built for a Ferrari, the windows and rear screen were made of lightweight Perspex instead of glass, and Borrani aluminum-rimmed wire-spoked wheels completed the package.
“The 3.3-liter V12 engine featured high-lift camshafts, 250 LM-type valves, competition pistons, a redesigned crankshaft, and Weber 40 DFI/3 carburetors. In addition, the engine was also set up with dry sump lubrication in place of the standard wet sump road-going system.”
The car going to auction, with a pre-sale estimated value of $12 million to $16 million, was completed in July 1966, the sixth of the dozen to be produced and one of eight with left-hand drive.
It was raced in Italy between 1966 and 1970 by its first two owners — Renzo Sinibaldi and Alberto Federici — posting several overall and class victories.
“Ferrari’s type 275 GTB/C is the last single-cam competition Berlinetta,” Gooding quotes Ferrari historian Marcel Massini. “These cars were specifically built for the 1966 racing season. Only 12 of these cars were built, all equipped with a unique lightweight chassis, special 250 LM-type engine, transaxle and paper thin Scaglietti bodywork.
“Chassis 09051 participated in more than 20 races, winning its class numerous times.
“GTB/Cs are basically considered 250 GTOs for 1966 and, as such, are extremely sought-after. Super rare, very fast, beautiful and perfectly drivable.”
After racing, the car became part of private collections in the UK and US. Its consignor has owned the car since 2004. In 2007, it was restored by Wayne Obry’s Motion Products Inc. in Neenah, Wisconsin. Refinished in its original 1966 racing livery, it scored 99 points and was second in its class at Pebble Beach.
The car was returned to Motion Products in 2013 for the complete restoration of its bodywork.
