Ferrari 275 News

A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spyder set a world record on the weekend for the highest price paid at auction for the Italian brand.One of just 10 built, it went for US $27.5m ($29.9m) with buyers fees under the hammer of the RM Auctions event in Monterey, California.That’s still short of the highest price ever paid for any car – again a Ferrari – which is the US$35m ($38m) for a private sale in June last year for a 1962 Ferrari GTO 250 race car originally built for British champion Stirling Moss.However the NART Spyder – named for the North American Racing Team – still went for nearly double the RM Auctions estimate of US$14-17m, and millions more than its original asking price of about $15,000.One of an edition of just 10, the Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spyder was reportedly sold to Canadian fashion Lawrence Stroll – the business brains behind the Tommy Hilfiger brand. 

The Eternità concept designed by Kim Cheong Ju, Ahn Dre and Lee Sahngseok of Seoul’s Hongik University took first place in the competition, which saw entries from 50 universities around the world aiming to design imagined Ferraris of the future. In second place was the Xezri designed by Azerbaigian student Samir Sadikhov at IED in Italy’s Turin. Third place was taken by Cavallo Bianco, designed by the team from the Royal College of Arts in London, comprising UK student Henry Cloke and Chinese student Qi Haitao. The Eternita was judged as having best met the design brief for “a thoroughbred hypercar brimming with new generation technologies and materials, an extreme (“hyper”) car not only in its architecture but also in every other aspect”. After drawing an initial design, the entrants then developed computer-generated 3D illustrations, and followed that with the production of a 1:4 scale model concentrating on detailing and interior features. Common themes across the entries included alternative propulsion systems – largely hybrid – for improving fuel economy, and weight reduction to improve dynamics. “Nurturing the creativity of young people is a fundamental strategy in every walk of life,” Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said after the prize-giving ceremony. “The Ferrari World Design Contest represents a window that we want to keep open on the world and the creative energy of the next generation. I saw at first hand the many genuinely innovative ideas that these talented youngsters sent us and could feel the enormous passion and commitment that had gone into them.

While Ferrari’s entry in F1 is topical (see related stories) a significant example of past glory in other championships is to be auctioned at RM Auctions Ferrari Passione e Leggenda on May 16.One of only three original 330 P4s built, and second place finisher in the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours, chassis number 0858 will be auctioned at Modena in its final factory guise as a 350 Can-Am.This particular car is significant to Australian Ferrari cognescenti as it was raced at Surfers Paradise in 1968. The car also played a significant role in Ferrari’s 1967 World Manufacturers Championship for Sportcars win.  Rule changes at the end of the 1967 season made the P4s obsolete for the 1968 season and 0858 became one of two P4s to be modified to compete in the Can-Am Series in America. This was without success however as the 4.4 litre engine could not compete against the no holds barred big block engines of the likes of the McLarens.Sold at the end of the season to a privateer, the car went on to race in South Africa where it won five races in the Springbok Series. On retirement from racing it was sold to an enthusiast who has maintained ownership for the past 40 years with only rare public outings.The car will present a connundrum to some potential purchasers. The P4 is the Holy Grail for the very upper eschelon of collectors. It brought Enzo Ferrai one of his most prized moments - the 1-2-3 victory at Daytona in 1967 against the unlimited-budget Ford assualt on his dominance. An image of the victory has remained behind his desk since that time. With a second place at Le Mans, this example could be considered the second most desireable of the P4s. The eventual buyer is left with the decision as whether to keep its original factory-modified body and unrestored patina or restore it to 1967 Le Mans specification, which is undoutably the most desirable style.check out our gallery of studio shots from RM Auctions - Ferrari Passione e Leggenda...Other notable Ferrari for sale in Modena on the 16th include;Alain Prost’s 1990 Ferrari 641/2 F11957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (featured in the World’s Most Beautiful Car blog related link))1965 Ferrari 275GTB/C (raced in 1993 Targa Tasmania)1956 Maserati 250F Grand Prix Car1959 Ferrari 250Gt California (LWB)