The Lush Limelight of the 1967 Ferrari 330GTC Speciale

By the late 1960S, Ferrari was moving further away from custom-bodied cars for its bread and butter. However, for the right customer and the right price, it could still make automotive dreams come true. This is one such creation, which I was able to picture at Concours of Elegance 2023 – based on a 330 chassis, it was delivered to Pininfarina for the styling specialist to let its imagination go wild. The result was a design that evoked the 365 California Spyder, while at the same time incorporating cues from the carrozzeria’s mid-engined creations.

The model was unveiled at the 1967 Brussels Motor Show, and just four were built. The first owner of this example, no. 9653, was Dr Michael DeBakey, a renowned heart surgeon from Houston, US, who was a close friend of Princess Liliane de Réthy of Belgium, who owned the first example of the 330GTC Speciale, chassis 9439. It was during a tour of Maranello with Princess Liliane and King Leopold of Belgium that DeBakey ordered his own Speciale.

Construction of 9653 began in August 1966, with the body – number C0174 – finished by hand in Azzurro Aurora over a black leather interior with blue cloth inserts and blue carpeting. It also benefitted from air-conditioning, electric windows, instrumentation in miles, a chromed front grille guard and Borrani wire wheels.

Prior to its delivery, the Speciale was displayed on Pininfarina’s stand at the Geneva Auto Show, sharing the limelight with a 365 California Spyder and 365P Berlinetta Speciale. DeBakey enjoyed his car for a few years before gifting it to his brother, Ernest, based in Alabama.

In 1973, stewardship passed to Carl De Bickero of Chicago, who overhauled the engine before selling the Ferrari to Norman Silver of North Carolina. He kept the car until 1983, passing it on to oil tycoon John Mecom Jr of Houston. Peter Sidlow of Los Angeles bought it in 1991, and set about a full restoration courtesy of Michael Regalia (bodywork), Bruno Borri (mechanics) and Tony Nancy (upholstery). It then scored First in Class and the Luigi Chinetti award at the 1992 FCA Annual Meet and Concours, as well as First in Class at the FCA Vintage Ferrari Concours at Concorso Italiano in August 1992. It remained out of the limelight for 25 years, before winning Class E – Granturismo: Experimenting With the Post-War European GT, at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

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