Car of the Week: This Concours-ready 1965 Ferrari could fetch $2 million at auction

Today’s sleek supercars populate the cell phone screens of young automotive enthusiasts around the world. But it wasn’t always like that. Long ago, in an age when owning a color television was a luxury, seeing a Ferrari in a magazine—let alone on the road—was a rare privilege. The 1960s was a particularly fertile period for car design, and there’s no arguing that the Italians did it better than anyone, anywhere. Like the best Italian suits, many of the country’s cars were custom-made, but even the “off the rack” offerings were exclusive and expensive, at least outside of Britain other than a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, or Aston Martin. Relating to anything.

Until 1965, essentially every car that rolled off the Maranello production line was assembled by hand. Maserati was following suit, and Lamborghini – just born – produced less than 100 cars a year after its founding. These marques occupied such a rarefied class, that really, everything they made throughout this period should be considered as much art as automobiles.

A high-water mark for this era was Ferrari’s beautiful 275 GTS, a stunning 1965 example of which will be offered at the Ferrari of Monaco car auction’s L’Astarossa sale, which will be at Grimaldi in Monaco for its second edition in June. Will return to the forum. 8. Ferrari unveiled its 275 GTS at the 1964 Paris Motor Show, alongside the legendary 275 GTB. While more than 800 different models of GTBs were produced, Ferrari built only 200 examples of the GTS between late 1964 and early 1966.

Although quite different in appearance from the GTB, the GTS shared similar underpinnings, including independent rear suspension, a rear-mounted five-speed gearbox, and a wet sump, 3.3-liter V-12 engine. The latter was the last of Ferrari’s Colombo-designed V-12s, which made 260 hp, and took the convertible to 150 mph. While the Berlinetta’s Pininfarina-designed body was made by Scaglietti, the all-steel spider was made by its designer Pininfarina, after which the fully finished and trimmed bodies were delivered to Marinello for mechanical fitment.

The 29th produced, the car on offer was then delivered new to Spain, where it has mainly resided ever since. A complete restoration was carried out in 2008 by GPS Classic in Italy, returning the car to its original condition. Along with matching numbers and retaining its original engine, this GTS wears the original paint and interior colors of the and respectively.

Shown at the 2009 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, the car currently has 3,169 kilometers (about 1,969 miles) on its odometer, and has been maintained by its dedicated steward since its restoration. The car also comes with Ferrari Classiche certification and comprehensive documentation from UK Ferrari specialist DK Engineering. This important piece of Ferrari history is estimated to sell for between $1.6 million and $2 million.