1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Coupe

The original owner of this Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose Alloy bodied coupe was Haitian diplomat Albert Silvera. The order for the car was placed through the official North American distributor Luigi Chinetti Motors in New York. He requested the latest long-nose model with lightweight aluminum coachwork and finished in a distinctive color, Azzurro Perlato Acrillico, a vibrant electric blue that has since been nicknamed 'Blu Silvera.' The car was ordered with a number of special features, including six Weber 40 DCN/2 carburetors topped by velocity stacks, SNAP exhaust extractors, Koni shock absorbers, and Borrani RW 3874 wire wheels with Pirelli tires.

Upon completion, Silvera traveled to the Ferrari factory to personally take delivery of the car and brought along Robert M. Cressman of Cressman-Baumgarten Ferrari in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Upon receiving the car, Silvera entrusted the car to Sergio Scaglietti, who then personalized the Ferrari by trimming the dashboard in red leather to match the interior upholstery and fitting a custom armrest, driver and passenger headrests, removable seat cushions, and a radio console. Scaglietti also gave the car special chrome gills for the fender and sail-panel vents, and fabricated a split-rear bumper to showcase his diplomatic license plate.

After the unique features were completed, Mr. Silvera then drove his new 275 GTB from Modena to his home in Paris, where official Ferrari distributor Charles Pozzi SA performed the first service. From there, the Ferrari was flown to Florida and used on occasional outings when Silvera made use of his Miami home.

Silvera traded the car in April of 1967 to the Cressman-Baumgarten Ferrari dealership to make way for a new 275 GTB/4, chassis 09789. 07993 was sold to an elderly gentleman in Miami, who used the Ferrari sparingly and retained it until his death. In 1975, his estate sold the car through Milano Motors to David L. Flinn of Miami. The car passed through the ownership of Ferrari enthusiasts Steven Barney and Warren Mosler, before being sold to George Nuse of Norcross, Georgia, in 1984.

At some point, either during or just prior to Mr. Nuse's ownership, the car was re-finished in its present white livery. In 1989, Mr. Nuse sold the Ferrari to Ed Wettach of Jackson, Mississippi. The car remained in Mr. Wettach's collection from 1989 until 2002, when it was sold through his dealership, Ferrari of Atlanta, to Bob Lacovek, a resident of Illinois.

In January of 2008, Mr. Lacovek had the car certified by the Ferrari Classiche Department, who issued the Certifcazione di Autenticita and confirmed that the 275 GTB retains its original chassis, alloy body, suspension, brakes, engine (internal no. 848/64), and transaxle (internal no. 407).

The car current displays approximately 21,250 miles (in the Spring of 1983 the car had a record odometer reading of 9,039 miles and in the fall of 2002 it had 12,600 miles). Every feature specified by its original owner remains intact.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2014