Max Minshull
Associate Specialist
LOT 17
1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 Chassis no. 12751
Sold for US$179,200 inc. premium
Lot 17
1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2
1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2
Chassis no. 12751
Chassis no. 12751
4,390cc SOHC V12 Engine
3 Weber Carburetors
320bhp at 6,600rpm
3-Speed Automatic Transmission (see text)
4-Wheel Independent Suspension
4-Wheel Disc Brakes
* One of only 806 examples built
* Ferrari's first four-seat model to be offered with power steering and self-levelling rear suspension as standard equipment
* Matching-numbers V-12
* Engine rebuilt in 2004 by respected marque specialist Allen S. Bishop, author of the Ferrari Guide to Performance and a noted Pebble Beach concours judge
THE FERRARI 365GT 2+2
Once the 250 GTE entered production in 1960, Ferrari's line of four-seat Grand Tourers rapidly became the marque's best-selling models. Fast, handsome and eminently practical, they faced little in the way of competition until the arrival of the Lamborghini Espada in 1968. By that time Ferrari had already launched its third-generation four-seater, the 365 GT, successor to the 330 GT which had in turn superseded the original 250 GTE.
Presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1967, the 365 GT was the largest and most spacious road car Ferrari had yet produced. Built on a new Tipo 591 tubular steel chassis, it introduced fully independent suspension to Ferrari's four-seat V12 line for the first time, in place of the live rear axle used by its predecessors. Unequal-length wishbones and coil-sprung telescopic dampers were fitted at each corner, the rear axle benefiting from a hydraulic self-levelling system developed in conjunction with Koni to maintain a consistent ride height regardless of load or speed. Power steering, previously the preserve of the flagship 365 California, was standardised across the range, while a new twin-circuit hydraulic braking system with ventilated discs replaced the solid units of the 330 GT.
Styled by Pininfarina in the idiom of the earlier 330 GTC Speciale but with a more cost-effective fastback rear screen in place of that car's compound-curved glass, the 365 GT's steel bodyshell — aluminum hood and trunk lid apart — clothed a cabin trimmed to a very high standard: full leather upholstery, electric windows, an oval instrument binnacle behind a wood-rimmed wheel, and a teak-faced console housing the clock, fuel gauge and ammeter. Options included air conditioning, a radio, Borrani wire wheels and Plexiglass headlamp covers.
Power came from a 4,390cc all-alloy, single-overhead-camshaft V12 of Colombo lineage, fed by three twin-choke Weber 40 DFI/5 carburetors and producing a claimed 320bhp at 6,600rpm and 268lb ft at 5,000rpm — sufficient for a top speed of 152mph and 0-62mph in under seven seconds. Drive was taken through a conventional five-speed manual gearbox and ZF limited-slip differential; a small number of cars destined for the North American market, at the request of Ferrari's importer Luigi Chinetti, were instead fitted with a General Motors three-speed automatic.
Production of the 365 GT ran for three and a half years, ending in early 1971 with the introduction of the Pininfarina-styled 365 GT4 2+2 at the Geneva Motor Show. In that time 806 cars were completed with chassis numbers running from 11051 to 14099, preceded by six pre-production prototypes.
THE CAR OFFERED
The example offered here, chassis 12751, was dispatched new by Ferrari through Modern Classic Motors of Reno, Nevada to dealer Farland-Buell Inc in Denver, Colorado and finished from new in Blu Tourbillon over a Blu leather interior. Acquired by the current owner in 1987, it has been cherished and used in Ferrari Club of America events from the 1990s up to the present.
The engine was rebuilt in 2004 by the respected Californian marque specialist Allen S. Bishop, author of the Ferrari Guide to Performance and a noted concours judge at Pebble Beach and other major events over a long career devoted to the marque. Invoices and correspondence relating to this work are retained within the accompanying comprehensive history file. Additionally, after correspondence with noted historian Marcel Massini, the owner commissioned a repaint from Black back to the original Blue Turbillon in 2015. The odometer currently displays 75,342 miles.
Presented as a sorted, ready-to-enjoy driver rather than a trailer queen, this 365 GT wears its history honestly and runs and drives as a well-sorted example of the model should. It is a genuinely handsome car in the metal — the Pininfarina lines have aged gracefully, and the proportions read as elegant rather than merely large, drawing admiring glances at every fuel stop. For a buyer who wants to use a four-seat V12 Ferrari rather than simply own one, it would be hard to find a more usable, better-sorted example.
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