 |
|
Ferrari Classiche recently took delivery of
one of the more interesting cars ever to
leave the factory - a 275 GTB4 that
originally belonged to legendary American
star, Steve McQueen who took delivery of the
car in San Francisco when he was on the set
filming Bullitt. |
|
|
|
 |
|
The new owner brought the car to Ferrari
Classiche for the company's authenticity
certification process, knowing that at some
time during the 1980s, when under previous
ownership, the car had been converted to a
Spider. |
|
|
|
Ferrari
Classiche recently took delivery of one of the more
interesting cars ever to leave the factory - a 275 GTB4
that originally belonged to legendary American star,
Steve McQueen who took delivery of the car in San
Francisco when he was on the set filming Bullitt.
The new owner brought the car to Ferrari Classiche for
the company's authenticity certification process,
knowing that at some time during the 1980s, when under
previous ownership, the car had been converted to a
Spider.
Under the provisions of the certification process, a
Ferrari can only be authenticated if it is to exactly
the same specifications as when it left the factory. To
this end, the new owner decided to return the car to its
original coupé form and Ferrari Classiche has undertaken
the restoration reproducing the roof and buttresses with
hand-beaten steel panels.
Ferraris continue to be an excellent investment, as has
shown in a recent report by Business Week on a private
treaty sale for $35 million of a 250 GTO built for
Stirling Moss.
A world record price that celebrates the 50th
anniversary of the launch in 1962 of this homologation
special (hence the designation Gran Turismo Omologata),
of which just 36 examples were built, and which achieved
a seemingly endless series of victories in GT racing in
the early 1960s, culminating in three consecutive
Manufacturers' titles in 1962, '63 and '64.
The Ferrari 250 GTO has been well regarded in classic
car circles for decades for its combination of
thoroughbred looks, performance and motor sports
heritage and, in 1990, a 1962 example set a then record
auction price of $10,756,833. This world record was to
stand for 18 years until it was beaten in 2008 by
another Ferrari, a 1961 250 California sold by RM
Auctions in collaboration with Sotheby's in Maranello
for $10,910,592. That record was again beaten in 2011 by
the sale in Pebble Beach of a 1957 250 Testa Rossa for
$16.39 million.
A considerable contribution to the interest for classic
Ferraris in recent years has come from the company's
direct involvement, with its dedicated department
providing certificates of authenticity which testify to
the originality of a car. Set up in 2006, Ferrari
Classiche has to date processed over 3,300 certification
requests using the company's exhaustive archive records
and original designs.
|
|
|
