Collectors\' Motor Cars and Automobilia

5 | THE GOODWOOD REVIVAL SALE

Now enlarged to 3.3 litres, the 60-degree V12 engine remained the

familiar Colombo type, in standard form producing 20bhp at 7,00rpm.

A higher - 300bhp - state of tune employing six Weber carburettors was

available, and this was used for the handful of aluminium-alloy bodied

275 GTB/C (Competizione) models built, though customers purchasing

a 275 GTB for road use could also specify aluminium coachwork and/or

the six-carburettor engine. Despite its near-perfect appearance, revisions

to the original 275GTB were not long in coming: a longer nose, enlarged

rear window and external boot hinges being introduced towards the end

of 1965. Mechanically the only major change was the adoption of torque

tube enclosure for the prop shaft. The prototype Series 2 ‘long nose’

was built on chassis number ‘07707GT’ and the last ‘short nose’ on

º0727GT’. Approximately 250 of the latter were produced.

The model’s ultimate incarnation - the 275 GTB/4 - appeared in October

19, the º4’ suffix denoting the presence of four, rather than the

original’s two, overhead camshafts. Sadly, by 19 the progress of

automobile emissions legislation had effectively outlawed the 275 GTB

and its like from Ferrari’s most lucrative export market, the United States,

and the model was phased out later that same year after a total of only

460 cars had been completed. Today, many regard these quite rare

GTBs as the finest road-going Gran Turismo Ferraris of all time.

‘The 275 GTB is... a superlatively vigorous, very agile and quick
automobile. 0ts comfort, the quality of its finish, the original lines of its
bodywork all justify its exceptionally high price, for it is an exceptional
automobile. 0t is a thoroughbred, with luxury devoid of excess, and a fiery
temperament... ’ Jose Roskinski, Sport Auto, July 1965.

When Ferrari’s highly successful º250’ series was superseded in 194
by the ‘275’, Pininfarina was once again called upon to work his magic
for the Maranello concern, creating a true classic of sports car design
for the 275 GTB. Penetrative nose, long bonnet, purposeful side vents,
high waistline and short be-spoilered tail: these were all ingredients of
the recipe, yet the result was so much more than merely the sum of
its parts. The tail spoiler and cast-alloy wheels echoed developments
first seen on Ferrari competition cars, while beneath the skin there was
further evidence of racing improving the breed, the independent rear
suspension - seen for the first time on a road-going Ferrari - employing
a double wishbone and coil-spring arrangement similar to that of the
250LM racer. The adoption of a rear-mounted five-speed transaxle
combining the gearbox and differential in a single unit helped improve
weight distribution, and this feature would characterise future generations
of front-engined Ferrari road cars. Body construction was entrusted to
Carrozzeria Scaglietti, Ferrari’s close neighbour in Maranello.