1965 Ferrari 275 GTS Spider Convertible Coupe

The Ferrari 275 Series followed the company's established practice, incorporating a multi-tubular frame tied together by oval main tubes. For the first time on a road-going Ferrari, there was an independent rear suspension setup, employing a double wishbone and coil-spring arrangement similar to that found on the 250LM sports-racer. They had a rear-mounted five-speed transaxle combining the all-synchromesh gearbox and differential in a single unit which helped improve weight distribution. This feature would characterize future generations of front-engiend Ferrari road cars.

The 275GTS's interior was given generously sized seats and wood veneer dashboard, the latter appearing for the first time in a Ferrari.

Chassis no. 07799
This example was built in late-1965 and was the 143rd 275GTS completed in a production run of just 200 cars. 181 of these were configured with left-hand drive. The car wears Pininfarina body number 175143 and was originally finished in the metallic color Oro Chiaro and fitted with a Rosso Scuro (red) interior. The left-hand drive car was destined for European delivery and given metric, kilometers per hour gauges. It was delivered by the Ferrari factory in-house delivery logistics team to the Belgian importer Garage Francorchamps SA, for display at the Bruxelles Motor Show, held early January of 1966. After the show, the car returned back to Maranello.

In February 1966, 07799 was sold to its first owner, Juan Quintano Halpern of Madrid, Spain, through the Spanish Ferrari importer, Tayre SA, also based in Madrid. Mr. Quintano would retain the car for more than 3 decades. It was not until 2000 that Mr. Quintano parted with the Ferrari, when he traded 07799 for a Ferrari 206SP, chassis number 018.

The new owner embarked on a thorough mechanical and cosmetic re-commissioning of 07799, which at the time was believed to have had just 85,000 kilometers (53,000 miles) since new. The work included a change of the Oro Chiaro exterior to Ferrari's period correct Giallo Fly, or Fly Yellow, a full interior re-trim in black and fitting of a new black convertible top.

07799 made its way to the US in 2001, where it was sold in August of that year at the Monterey Sports Car Auction. The new owner kept the car until the spring of 2003, when it was sold to a collector based in Mexico City, Mexico. In the mid-2000s, the GTS was sold to a Colorado-based collector, before settling in a Pennsylvania collection.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2013