Chassis 08891
The GTB was a replacement for the 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso and it marked a new departure for Ferrari, being the first road car with independent rear suspension and a new five-speed transaxle that provided better weight distribution. These developments were largely influenced by the experience gained on the track from racing models such as the Competition 275P and the 250LM. Although primarily designed for the road, Enzo Ferrari could not resist the temptation to enter a heavily breathed-on 275 GTB for the Nurburgring in 1965, which set a new lap record. A customer entry at Le Mans in that same year took victory in the GT class. Further track experience led to the later model 275 GTBs, of which 08891 is one, being built with a revised long nose, more capable of sticking to the track at high speeds.
08891 is a rare example of this model, being one of a pair of late torque tube, long nose, two-cam 275 GTBs ordered by American Ferrari dealer, Luigi Chinetti, with alloy body, six Weber carburetors a factory-fitted chrome roll bar, external filler cap and special Borrani (#RW-4039) wire wheels. All of these features are noted on the original factory build sheets, available in the car’s history file, as are headrests and the covered dashboard. The coachwork is by Scaglietti to Pininfarina design. 08891’s first owner was Manuel Dos Passos, resident in Maine USA who was son of the author Juan Dos Passos. The Ferrari passed between a handful of East Coast owners in its early years and this is fully documented, supporting 08891’s unquestionable provenance.
By the end of the 1970s, the Ferrari had moved to the West Coast and quickly moved into the hands of noted collector Sherman Wolf and then to Tony Singer, who kept 08891 for some thirteen years. During this period, the Ferrari received a fair amount of media attention and was featured in and the one-and-only edition of Vintage Ferrarimagazine and in Autoweek’s Escape Road by John Matras, which is a beautiful article featuring many photographs of 08891. Matras writes, ‘be assured that the 275 GTB/6C is capable of prodigious speeds. Zero to 60 is in the low six-second range and the car doesn't stop accelerating until something on the order of 150mph is achieved. Yet when all the statistics are calculated and the photographs neatly filed away, when all the other images start to fade, it will be the sound of the V12, the music of the six Webers, the song of the Ferrari that lingers.’
By the early 2000s, the Ferrari was resident with ‘Skeets’ Dunn and in his ownership enjoyed a painstaking restoration preparing it for the 2001 37thAnnual Ferrari Club of America National Meeting, the Concours d’Elegance in Dallas and at Motorsport Ranch at Cresson, Texas, where it received the prestigious Coppa Bella Macchina award. Subsequently, it was judged ‘best in class’ at the 2002 Newport Concours in California. In August 2004 it was sold at Christie’s Monterey Auction to John Spencer Bradley who showed the Ferrari in August the following year at the third Annual Quail.
The current owner has acquired the Ferrari Classiche Certificazione di autenticita, which is presented along with the factory build sheets, invoice history, details of the restoration and press coverage. Recently looked after by Ferrari specialists GTO Engineering, this V12 3.3.litre original engined 275 GTB offers huge performance on the open road, coupled with a rare original specification. As at home on the concours field as on the road, this is a rare opportunity to acquire a ‘best in class’ 275 GTB with fantastic provenance.
