1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Alloy by Scaglietti

Offered in collaboration with Ferrari Beverly Hills, Sotheby’s Sealed is thrilled to present this spectacular Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Alloy. One of just 16 275 GTB/4s ever bodied in aluminum, it is one of only a few to be equipped with an outside fuel cap from new. Ferrari Classiche certified, the car retains its original chassis, engine, gearbox, and bodywork and is presented in exceptional condition throughout. Road tested in the October 1967 issue of Car & Driver magazine, perhaps they summarized this car best in saying: “We think it’s probably the neatest car an enthusiast could ever own.”

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In order to fully appreciate the significance of chassis number 09413, it is important to understand its particular place within the hierarchy of the 275 GTB. From when the 275 GTB was introduced in 1964 to the final 275 GTB/4 leaving Maranello in 1968, those first and last cars built may have looked similar to the casual onlooker, but in reality, they were anything but. Ferrari was constantly making updates to their models during production in order to refine their cars to the best of their abilities. With the firm building their cars for use on the road and use on the racetrack to order for each individual client, not all 275 GTBs were created equal and with those evolutionary changes in mind, the latest model is the one to have.

In May 1967, 09413 was sold new to Robert “Bob” Peak of Connecticut. Peak was well known as an incredibly talented commercial illustrator, known for his work in designing film posters. His earliest success was designing the poster for West Side Story and would continue creating posters for both Hollywood and Broadway through the late 1970s, with some of his most famous work being for Apocalypse Now, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Superman. While he might not have been a famous face in Hollywood, there is no doubt that his work had a profound affect in both film and theatre; millions of people around the world knew him through his work in both mediums.

Early on in his ownership, Peak lent his new 275 GTB/4 Alloy to Car & Driver to be road tested and featured in their October 1967 issue, hitting newsstands the month before. The road test makes for a fascinating read, and clearly, Car & Driver were in awe of the car’s capabilities both on road and on track, stating; “the GTB-4 is moreover, the only ‘pure’ sports car that Ferrari makes…a sports car that you can drive to the race track, unload your bird and your gear, and go out and win the race. The GTB-4 is, in fact, the only true dual-purpose gran turismo racing car in the world.” Within the article, Peak is mentioned by name, and the outside fuel filler cap is mentioned as present on the car (listed as an optional extra at a cost of $280.00).

Before the end of the year, the 275 GTB had been returned to Chinetti and was shipped to Charles Rezzaghi Motors in San Francisco, the official Ferrari dealer in San Francisco, where it was subsequently sold to Alec Wilson of California. After passing through two more owners in the US, the car was eventually exported to Europe in the early 1980s. Undergoing a partial restoration in the late 1990s in its native Italy, the car returned to the US in 2006 and was purchased shortly thereafter by Dr. Vance Shappley of Germantown, Tennessee. Upon arrival stateside, further refurbishment work was carried out at Motion Products in Neenah, Wisconsin. In 2009, the car was granted Ferrari Classiche certification, confirming that it retains its original chassis, engine, gearbox, and bodywork. In October 2012, the car was shown by Shappley during the 49th Annual Ferrari Club of America National Field and Driving Concours in Palm Springs, California. In January 2013, Mr. and Mrs. Shappley showed the car at Cavallino Classic, where it won a Platinum award, and at Mar-a-Lago where it won first in class.

The car has resided in its current collection in California for approximately a decade and today remains very well presented throughout.

Within the hierarchy of the 275 series of Ferrari road cars, only a limited number of vehicles —with the illustrious monikers of N.A.R.T. and Speciale—eclipse this car in terms of rarity and importance. Quite simply, 09413 is as good as it gets in terms of roadgoing closed 275 GTB/4s, and represents the very pinnacle of Ferrari’s development of the 275 GTB platform before the introduction of the 365 GTB/4 Daytona. It is a landmark.