Can anyone imagine buying a car for $12-$16 million dollars? Well, this shall be, coming this August when a 1966 275 GTB/C Competizione Ferrari Berlinetta will be auctioned off in Monterey. This is all part of a 70th anniversary celebration featured at Pebble Beach Concours. The ultra-rare Ferrari that is on the block is one of twelve built (number six to be exact), and one of eight of these vehicles that are a left-hand drive.
The 250 series competition cars were introduced by Ferrari in 1953, which quickly evolved into the car every boy and man wanted for themselves, the 250 GTO. In 1965 the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) did not approve the company’s mid-engine 250 LM — Ferrari had not manufacture enough 250LMs to be given the title as a production-based GT race car; therefore, the company moved forward with producing three 275 GTBs that had quite lightweight Scaglietti bodywork and a 250 LM-spec engines.
One year later, the company produced 12 similar cars. As per Marcel Massini, a Ferrari historian, the 275 GTB/C would be the final single Berlinetta cam competition. He goes on to note that the vehicles were built for the racing season in ’66. Massini noted that GTB/Cs are thought of as the 1966’s 250 GTOs and are as such, quite rare and very sought-after.
MSN reported that the Ferrari currently up on auction is a thing of beauty. Instead of glass, the rear screen and windows are made with Perspex, and the car has a blended bodywork that is paper-thin. It dons Borrani wired-spoked aluminum wheels to boot. As the cornering loads were used for racing, the road version had a bigger-capacity ‘dry sump’ replace the ‘wet sump’ to make sure the oil continually pumped through to the engine’s top during corners at a high speed. In addition, the vehicle has a fuel tank with a large capacity.
The GTB/C chassis 09051 was first finished in July 1966, and completed with Silver Metallic (Argento Metallizzato) and black leather. It competed in Italy races from 1966-1970 and had various overall and class wins for the car’s first two owners: Alberto Federici and Renzo Sinibaldi. Still, once the vehicle ended its racing career, one could find it within private and prominent car collections across the United States and United Kingdom.
The car’s owner currently, purchased the vehicle in 2004 and by 2007 brought in Neenah, Wisconsin Wayne Obry’s Motion Products Inc. to refinished the Ferrari to its 1966 livery. While at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours, the car gained a 99-point score, placing in second in Class. This would also mark the last public appearance for the 09051. Once 2013 rolled around, the car headed to Motion Products Inc. once again for bodywork restoration and a bit of rebuild around mechanics.
The auction offers a unique opportunity to own this rare vehicle, that also comes with a plethora of accessories and a history file; making the $12 to $16 million price tag, all that more enticing.
