1966 Ferrari 275 GTB

Many myths surround the Ferrari marque including the replacement of the 250GT Lusso with the 275 GTB due to Enzo's belief that it was far too beautiful to convey properly the image of the Ferrari marque. The arrival of the 275 GTB left no doubt about the company's sporting intentions, and as they continued to quarrel with the FIA in the mid-1960s over the marque's grudging change from front- to mid-engine placement in its sports-racing cars, the 275 GTB carried on as the mainstay of the marque. The highly evolved Berlinetta was equipped with many distinctive attributes and components that had not been used on previous road-going Ferrari models, and like all good Ferraris of the time, be driven from the showroom floor to race tracks around the world.

The Ferrari 275 GT (Gran Turismo) was introduced at the Paris Auto Show in October of 1964 in both Berlinetta and Spyder configuration, replacing the 250 LWB Tour de France coupe and 250 GT California Spyder respectively. They were the first production Ferraris to employ all-independent suspension, for the first time replacing a live axle and parallel longitudinal leaf springs with unequal-length upper and lower A-arms, concentric coil springs/telescoping shock absorbers and a sway bar. The ladder-style chassis used large-diameter main tubes connected by smaller diameter cross members, resulting in improved rigidity. The transmission was now a fully synchronized 5-speed manual, another first for Ferrari, mounted in unison with the rear end, and the engine was located slightly rearward, improving the front-to-rear weight distribution. The clutch remained bolted to the flywheel, and a central bearing supported the driveshaft. Four wheel Dunlop disc brakes using separate front and rear circuits supplied impressive stopping power. The cast magnesium 14-inch diameter wheels were standard while the Borrani wire wheels remained a factory option.

The excellent ride quality, road adhesion, and overall handling characteristics were attributed to the improved weight distribution and new independent suspension, complemented by the potent performance of the engine. It was the final iteration of the famed Colombo 'short block' design employed in road and racing Ferraris dating back to the original design in 1946. The displacement measured 3,286cc with an oversquare bore-stroke ratio of 77mm by 58.8mm. The single overhead camshaft unit V12 used three twin-choke Weber 40 DCZ 6 or 40 DFI 1 carburetors or an optional six twin-choke Weber 40 DCN carburetors that brought horsepower to a claimed 320 hp at 7500 RPM. With the standard configuration, horsepower was claimed to be 280 hp at 7,600 RPM.

The design penned by Pininfarina for the 275 GTB drew inspiration from the shapely and elegant 250 GT/L 'Lusso', the curvaceous 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, and the aggressive 250 GTO. The harmonious fusion of its predecessors finest features resulted in a graceful coupe design that was thoroughly modern, with covered headlights, sensuously shaped fenders, a long hood and short fastback rear deck, cut-off Kamm tail, minimal brightwork, and swept-back body color air extractor vents in the front fenders and roof sail panel. Abbreviated bumpers flanked the low, wide oval air intakes with its egg-crate grille. About a year into the production run in 1965, the 275 GTB received a redesign of the nose, as it was found that earlier cars had a tendency to create front-end lift at high speeds. With the nose lengthened slightly and made slimmer, evoking the appearance of the 250 GTO, the 275 GTB models have since been categorized as short or long-nose cars.

The Ferrari 275 GTB is considered the last truly hand-built Ferrari road car integrating both from with function. Both the GTB and GTS shared many similarities, including the engine, transaxle, chassis and fully independent suspension. The 275 GTS, however, was never equipped with a torque tube, unlike the 275 GTB Series II. The aesthetics were completely different, with the GTS Spyder manufactured by Pininfarina and the GTB Berlinetta manufactured by Scaglietti, each body by hand imparting the individuality of bespoke construction to every car. The GTS had a shorter front hood, smaller uncovered headlights, Borrani wire wheels with Pirelli Cinturato CN72 tires, and a folding cloth convertible top. The 275 GTS was produced between late 1964 and early 1966 with 200 examples built during that time. 442 examples of the GTB road car were produced between fall 1964 and summer 1966, including both 236 series one 'short-nose' and 206 series two 'long-nose' cars. The 'long nose' frontal treatment added greater high-speed stability, and the torque-tube driveline configuration offered lower vibration.

4-Cam 275 GTB/4
Near the close of 1966, Ferrari introduced the 275 GTB/4 (4-cam) at the Paris Motor Show. It continued to rest upon the same basic platform as the early 275 GTB and the Scaglietti-built bodywork remained largely the same as the Series II 'long-nose' 275 GTB. The most visible difference was the hood bulge to accommodate the four-cam engine.

The engine powering the 275 GTB/4 was the Tipo 226 Colombo V12 with a 3285.72cc displacement, derived from the earlier Tipo 213 275 engine with two valves per cylinder. The Tipo 226 had four overhead camshafts and six Weber 40 DCN carburetors (275 GTB/6C) as standard, bringing output to (claimed) 300 hp. Top speed was also claimed to be 166.5 mph.

The Ferrari 275 GTB/4 was built from late 1966 to 1968 with 330 examples built.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2021