This car, which was shown at the Cavallino Classic earlier this year – still with a thick coating of dust – remains entirely in original condition and has been in the hands of the outgoing owner for thirty-six years. It will require a full restoration.

The selling price came in at the bottom end of the auctioneer’s estimate of US$2,500,000-US$3,250,000. It fetched the highest price at the Amelia Island sale with the top five being made up of a 2003 Ferrari Enzo, (US$2,365,000), 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV (US$1,925,000), 1993 Porsche 964 Turbo S Leichtbau ($1,760,000) and a 1952 Ferrari 212 Europa Cabriolet ($1,600,000).

The story of this unusual car goes back half a century and over a period of two years, Ferrari built 453 examples of the original 275 GTB before introducing the revised GTB/4 at the Paris Auto Show in October 1966.

According to the research of Ferrari historian Dyke Ridgley, whose authoritative 275 GTB production list was published by Cavallino magazine, Carrozzeria Scaglietti built just 205 examples with the desirable long-nose body style, introduced approximately halfway through the 275 GTB’s production run. The updated design was characterized by a revised front-end treatment, larger rear window, and external trunk hinges.

Of these revised long-nose bodies, the majority were constructed in steel, with only 80 cars delivered with lightweight aluminium coachwork. Not only are these limited-production alloy-bodied 275 GTBs rarer, more sporting, and more sought-after than their steel-bodied counterparts, they represented the latest evolution of Ferrari’s classic dual-purpose berlinetta.

The alloy-bodied 275 GTB presented here, chassis 08125, was completed in January 1966, finished in the outstanding color scheme of Argento Metallizzato (Metallic Silver) over a blue leather interior. According to a report by Ferrari historian Marcel Massini, the 275 was sold new in 1966 by M. Gastone Crepaldi S.A.S., the official dealer in Milan, to local resident Giorgio Pivetti.

After a few years, the GTB was exported to the US, like many Ferraris delivered new in Italy, and by 1975 it was owned by John Champney of Melrose, Massachusetts. New Jersey-based Ferrari enthusiast and dealer Marc Tauber recently recalled to a Gooding & Company specialist that, in July 1981, he saw Mr. Champney’s ad for the 275 in The New York Times and promptly flew to Massachusetts and purchased the car. Later that year, Mr. Tauber sold the Ferrari to Dan Rischenole of Rochester, New York.

Shortly thereafter, the Ferrari was purchased by its current owner. He recently related that he had always pined for a long-nose 275 berlinetta, and when he saw this silver example, it was the most beautiful car he had ever seen. He used the Ferrari sparingly through the years, along with his extraordinary 1967 427 Cobra (Lot 16), enjoying occasional spirited drives. In 1991, his friend, a mechanic who was the only person he entrusted to work on his prized sports cars, passed away unexpectedly.

After that, the consignor parked both cars in his North Carolina garage and, later that year, advertised the Ferrari and the Cobra for sale. His ad for the 275 in the Ferrari Market Letter read: “Classic silver with blue interior. Fresh engine and clutch. Engine compartment and mechanicals all gone through. A beautiful driving car. Early paint and interior very clean. $665,000.” Shortly after placing the ad, however, the consignor decided he was not ready to part with either car, and they remained untouched in his garage, hidden from public view, until earlier this year.

A friend of the consignor expressed to Gooding & Company the shock of finding these two extraordinary sports cars. Sequestered in the dark garage for the last 27 years, these were cars that he had heard stories about but never seen. Upon opening the door, this friend found the cars covered in a layer of dust, displaying the effects of their near 30-year slumber, yet remaining in undisturbed condition.

The discovery of these cars can be seen in an episode of Hagerty’s The Barn Find Hunter with Tom Cotter, where the significance of the discovery and the condition of the cars is vividly illustrated. As Mr. Cotter notes in the video, the odds of finding an important classic car hidden in a garage are slim but discovering a Ferrari 275 GTB and a 427 Cobra in the same place is unlikely to be repeated.

The fact that this 275 was not just a standard steel-bodied example makes this find even more significant, as alloy-bodied, long-nose variants are, today, some of the most highly sought Ferrari road cars. In accordance with its serial number, this example is fitted with what is commonly referred to as the “interim driveshaft,” since it features the improved CV joint setup but not the full torque-tube driveshaft of the later cars.

The Ferrari was recently sent to noted Ferrari specialist Greg Jones of Stuart, Florida, for minor mechanical servicing. Upon inspecting the car, Mr. Jones detailed the numerous factory locations in which the car’s chassis number appeared: stamped in the aluminium panel that trims the inside of the door, written on the backside of the original cardboard door insert, written on the webbing underneath the seat, and stamped in the door jamb, door sill, and bumpers, along with several other locations. The numbers found throughout the Ferrari supported this car being a complete and relatively undisturbed example. There was evidence of some paintwork as well as at least a partial interior reupholstering to a high standard in vinyl, taking the place of the original leather.

Significantly, this 275 also retains its original matching-numbers engine with internal number 980/64. Mr. Jones was able to revive the car so that it could start and drive a short distance but given that it has been in static storage for nearly 30 years, it will require comprehensive mechanical attention by the new owner prior to any road use. Cosmetically, at the point of auction, the car remained in as-found condition.

The Ferrari was recently shown at the 2018 Cavallino Classic; the sight of a garage-fresh alloy 275, presented after a nearly three-decade slumber, was greeted with tremendous affection by a global audience of dedicated Ferrari enthusiasts.

Noteworthy details also include Michelin XWX tires, as well as a NART badge affixed to the rear panel, an item that legendary Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti, the proprietor of the North American Racing Team, often gave to his top customers.