Words: Jonathan Wells
Photography: Darin Schnabel
Last year, we sat down with Paolo Pininfarina to discuss his family’s considerable influence on the world of car design. The 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Rondine came up. We touched on the striking 2003 Maserati Quattroporte. Even the firm’s upcoming Battista hypercar reared its electric head.
But one set of wheels Pininfarina didn’t mention was the 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS. It was a glaring omission; for we consider the 50-year-old sportster to be his family’s finest hour.
And can’t you see why? With its tail, borrowed from the Ferrari 275 GTS, its nose lifted from the 500 Superfast and a set of front fenders swiped from the 330 GT, this tuned-up mash-up is a beautiful monster — with Pininfarina as its Frankenstein.
In the lead up to the 1966 Geneva Auto Show, Enzo Ferrari wanted to create something brand new, that would bridge the gap between sporting and grand-touring cars. He handed this responsibility to Sergio Pininfarina who, along with his brother-in-law Renzo Carli, created this elegant design.
In fact, this particular car was bought by an American living in Paris, who drove the GTS back to France from the Ferrari factory. And it has a past almost as checkered as its construction.
Stolen in 1981, it resurfaced in Florida before being reunited with the American back in Europe. After his death, it hopped the pond again to New Jersey before spending almost 20 years in Skip Barber’s extensive collection.
Now up for sale through RM Sotheby’s, the GTS is in impeccable condition, and features the same mechanical layout — including fully independent suspension, four-wheel Girling disc brakes, five-speed transaxle and Borrani wire wheels — that it rolled out of the factory with.
And, under that sleek bonnet sits Ferrari’s famous four-litre, twin-cam V-12, delivering a genuine 300 bhp, which can still propel the Italian thoroughbred to dizzying speeds of 150mph. It’s a breakneck speed for a beautiful car, and one which Pininfarina should be thoroughly proud of.
Want more from Pininfarina? Check out the six cars that the family themselves think define the world-famous firm…
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