1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder

At the 1965 24 Hours of LeMans, during the formidable years when Ford and Ferrari staged the epic and historic battle for supremacy, 11 Fords or Ford-engined cars contested the race. Ferrari had no fewer than 12 of their cars. Ford would be beaten by their lack of reliability, leaving Ferrari to claim their sixth successive victory led by a pair of 250 LM's and a 275 GTB. A year later a 275 GTB finished eighth overall and was the first Ferrari under the checkered flag behind a parade of Fords. In 1967 a 275 GTB won LeMans GT class.

Ferrari's first victory at Le Mans occurred in 1949 with a 166 MM driven by Luigi Chinetti (co-driven by Peter Mitchell-Thomson and Lord Selsdon). Chinetti would enjoy a very successful racing career, driving in 12 consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans and taking 3 outright victories. Other accolades include 2 victories at the Spa 24 Hours race.

As early as 1946, Chinetti was selling Talbots and pre-war Alfa Romeos to American customers, later becoming Ferrari's agent in France and the United States. He opened the first Ferrari dealership in the United States (in Greenwich, Connecticut) and the business quickly became successful. Using his influence he persuaded Enzo Ferrari to build an open version of the 250 GT Tour de France. At the time, Ferrari produced a convertible V-12 road car called the 250 GT Cabriolet which drew its roots from the Pinin Farina Coupe. The California Spider, based on the far more potent TdF, was designed for a leisurely drive with the top down on Saturday, and racing and winning on Sunday. It was for the discerning buyer seeking Italian style and flair with power, reliability, versatility, and excellent road holding and handling capabilities.

The 250 GT California Spider proved itself a resounding success and remains one of the most beautiful cars to ever come from Modena. Ferrari produced other drop-top models during this era, including the mid-1960s 275 GTS and later 365 California, but neither filled the void left when production of the 250 GT California came to an end in 1963. They were far too luxurious to replace the spartan roadster.

Ferrari produced the 275 GTS from 1964 to 1966 and was introduced at the same time as the 275 GTB. The shared the same mechanical components which included the 3.3-liter V12 and fully independent suspension. The design, created and manufactured by Pininfarina, was different than that of the 275 GTB coupe, with smaller uncovered headlights, and a shorter front hood. In 1966, it was replaced by the 330 GTS.

Using the pages from his 'playbook' from the 1950s, Chinetti once again approached Enzo Ferrari with his idea for a spartan roadster version of the 275 GTB. Ferrari agreed to offer assistance but left the financial responsibility and risk with Chinetti. While the 275 GTS Spyder had an appearance that was different from the GTB Coupe, Chinetti's 'Spyder' was similar to the 275 GTB Coupe. Sergio Scaglietti was enlisted to transform the Pininfarina-designed fixed-head coupe into a roadster. Construction was by Scaglietti, who used steel for the bodies on all examples but the first two.

The first 275 GTB Spyder, known as the 'NART Spyder' since the California designation was already in use for a different model, was completed in January of 1967. By this point in history, Ferrari had introduced the 275 GTB/4, the first production model powered by a quad-cam race-bred 3.3-liter engine. Upon receiving the first completed car, Chinetti entered his new NART Spyder in the Sebring 12 Hours driven by Denise McCluggage and Marianne Rollo to a 2nd in class finish. That same car would later play a starring role, alongside Steve McQueen, in the Hollywood film 'The Thomas Crown Affair.' McQueen was so impressed by the car that he ordered one for himself.

Only ten examples of Chinetti's 275 GTB/4S NART Spider were built (chassis numbers 09437, 09751, 10139, 10219, 10249, 10453, 10691, 10709, 10749, and 11057) before being replaced by the 365 GTB/4 'Daytona' in 1968. Chinetti acquired the 275 GTB/4 for approximately $8,000 and after the conversion, listed the car for $14,400 retail.

by Dan Vaughan

Convertible
Chassis number: 11057

Following the introduction of the Ferrari 275 GTB/4, Ferrari's New York distributor and founder of the North American Racing Team Luigi Chinetti convinced Enzo Ferrari to build a convertible for the American market. The new 275 GTB/4S (or GTS/4) NART with Scaglietti Spyder body soon appeared with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway in the film The Thomas Crown Affair and a small number were quite quickly sold. A few more found owners after a NART Spyder was raced at the 12 Hours of Sebring driven by Marianne 'Pinky' Rollo and Denise McCluggage in 1967. Despite being front-page news just ten examples were built, and this car is the last of the ten. Known as the 'European NART Spyder,' it was first delivered to a Spanish Colonel of the Foreign Legion, then was sold to Jose Segimon in Madrid. It was sold again in 1982, and it has since been owned and enjoyed by several notable Ferrari collectors in Europe and America.

Convertible
Chassis number: 10139

Sport is never far from the design studios of Scaglietti, Pininfarina and Ferrari. The 275 GTB/4S is the first Ferrari street car powered by a four-cam version of Ferrari's immortal Colombo-designed V-12 engine and the first equipped with a transaxle and independent rear suspension. These cars were competition stand outs on the classic road courses.

In 1965, the second year of the Ford vs Ferrari Le Mans wars, a 275 GTB finished a remarkable third overall in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A year later at the height of the Dearborn and Maranello wars, a 275 GTB finished eighth overall and was the first Ferrari under the checkered flag. A 275 GTB won Le Mans' big GT class in 1967. It took the bigger and more powerful Ferrari 365 GTB4 until 1971 to replace the successful 275 GTB on Le Mans' over three-liter GT podium. A NART Spider version of the 275 GTB was Steve McQueen's four-wheel co-star in the 1968 feature film 'The Thomas Crown Affair'

In the mid-sixties American Ferrari dealer Luigi Chinetti approached Enzo Ferrari and asked him to build a small number of convertible versions of the 275 GTB. As a result, 10 North American Racing Team (NART) Spyders were built between 1967 and 1968.

The cars are powered by a 3.3-liter V-12 engine developing 300 horsepower.

During the late 1950s, Ferraris road-oriented Berlinettas split in terms of design from their race cars. After the 250 short wheelbase Berlinetta, the dual-purpose road / race Ferrari seemed gone. This new distinction motivated Ferrari to manufacture more civil road cars having impressive specifications. The first example of this new trend was the 275 GTB.

The 275 GTB/GTS was debuted in October 1964 at the Paris Salon. It was designed by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti. The 275 GTB was based on the 250 GT Berlinetta Lusson and the 250 GTO. The GTS version drew styling from the 330 GT 2+2. Production continued through 1966.

The fastback Berlinetta coupe was the GTB series. This version was meant for driving on the road and at the track. The Open Spyder was the GTS series designed to replace the 250 California. This version was more comfortable and more suited for touring. Around 200 examples of the GTS were created during its two-year production.

Being light, powerful, and strikingly beautiful, the 275 was a very successful car for Ferrari. It sold well, with around 1000 examples made, and, as an afterthought, scored victories in endurance racing after the 250 LM was denied homologation.

By moving the transmission to the rear of the car, better weight distribution was achieved. The engine used was a Colombo-derived V-12 engine that produced 260 horsepower in the GTS and 280 horsepower in the GTB. With the GTB version, an option was given to the buyer to purchase the vehicle with three or six Weber carburetors.

In 1965, Ferrari created three examples of the 275 GTB for the purpose of endurance motorsport racing. The vehicles were dubbed the 275 GTB/C and outfitted with a lightweight aluminum body, air vents for the brakes, six carburetors, and a 320 horsepower engine, and a few other minor mechanical modifications.

In 1966 the 275 GTB was re-introduced with a four-cam version of the V12. Six Webber carburetors aided in delivering around 300 horsepower. To cope with the new power, the GTB/4 was given wider tires and a ZF limited-slip differential. The 4 in the name GTB/4 represented the twin camshafts per cylinder bank totaling four. This was the first quad-cam road-going Ferrari ever created. It was easily distinguished by its bulge in the hood. During its production run lasting until 1968, around 320 examples of the 275 GTB/4 were created.

The 275 P and P2 were purpose-built to Capture the World Championship and in the process beat Ford. The 275 P was powered by a 3.3-liter powerplant; a 4 and 4.4-liter version was also used. These mid-engined, open-topped cars were comprised of many of the same components as the road-going versions.

by Dan Vaughan