1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Coupe

When Ferrari updated its 275 GTB during mid-1965, the bodywork wore a lengthened nose to reduce front-end lift at high speeds, a new transmission design with CV joints was implemented to prevent vibrations, amongst a host of other changes. Before production transitioned entirely to the long-nose design with CV joints, a small batch of short-nose cars was then completed, during which a third early car - this car - was earmarked for presentation at the season's auto shows.

This Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy by Scaglietti was the 1965 Turin show car. It left the factory wearing coachwork built by Scaglietti during October 1965, and along with being an early example with the long-nose body and CV joints, it was the very first example to be clothed with a low-weight alloy racing body and fitted with six carburetors. It wore Rosso Cina paint over a blue interior and was initially assigned for exhibition at the Paris Salon, but the 275 instead made its grand debut a month later at the Turin Motor Show in November 1965. The following month, a certificate of origin was issued.

A marque dealer in Bologna sold the Ferrari on Christmas Eve to Editoriale Il Borgo S.p.A. on behalf of Luciano Conti. In May 1966 he was joined by co-driver Vittorio Venturi to attempt a run at the Targa Florio under the Scuderia Nettuno banner. Wearing race number 288, the Berlinetta completed two laps before it was forced to retire for reasons unknown.

Conti sold the Ferrari to Enrico Tronconi of Milan in August 1966, who had the coachwork refinished in yellow with a purple stripe and reupholstering the interior in black.

The 275 GTB was sold to its third owner (Marcel Leemann of Zurich) in March 1968, and was imported to Switzerland in 1970. After enjoying two years of care by dealer Gerhard Möll in Bettlach, Switzerland, the Ferrari passed in February 1973 to Dutch dealer Rob de la Rive Box, from whom the car was sold to Mark Derish of New York City a month later. After brief ownership by James Glickenhaus, it would pass through two more New York-based ownerships before being purchased in November 1977 by FAF Motorcars of Tucker, Georgia. By this time, the car was finished in rosso paint over a nero interior and fitted with Borrani wire wheels. An inspection of the 275 revealed that the nose section of the alloy coachwork had been replaced with steel material.

In December 1977, FAF sold the Ferrari to Dr. William Gossman of Jeffersonville, Indiana, but he traded the car back to the dealer about a year later. Walter Medlin purchased the GTB/6C from FAF in April 1979. Since that time, over the past 44 years, the car has remained secluded from the larger marque community, being domiciled in a barn in Florida. When Hurricane Charley struck in August 2004, the vehicle incurred damage, compromising its previously well-preserved state.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2024