Hollywood legend, Steve McQueen’s 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 is up for auction at RM Sotheby’s and it’s truly something special. Given McQueen’s well known penchant for sports cars, this 275 was done up to his own specifications meaning there’s hardly another out there like it.
As the story goes, McQueen already owned four Ferrari’s, one being an extremely rare 275 GTS.4 NART Spider. McQueen reportedly rear-ended the Spider while waiting at a stoplight in Malibu and instead of repairing it, he decided to replace it with this 275 GTB/4 berlinetta.
Originally, the car was originally finished in Nocciola (hazelnut) paint over a Nero leather interior but almost immediately McQueen shipped it off to be repainted in a unique dark maroon dubbed Chianti Red. He also took undamaged parts from the Spider and put them here, namely the Borrani wire wheels and the sideview mirror mounted on the driver-side fender.
McQueen sold the car in 1971 to fellow actor Guy Williams before it went to J.P Hyan, an LA police officer who crashed it and sold it in a damaged state in 1980 to Robert Panella. Panella wanted a NART Spider but couldn’t get his hands on one so decided he would convert this one.
Panella owned the car for 17 years before selling it in 1997, but it was in 2009 that it was handed to Australian collector Peter Harburg, who then sold it to 1983 Le Mans winner, Vern Schappen.
Schappen restored the car to its original configuration between 2010 and 2013, and managed to track down a majority of the original parts that were removed during the Spider conversion. The roof was rebuilt and was repainted to Chianti Red once again and even returned the wire wheels and unique side mirror.
While the NART Spider is one of the rarest 275’s out there, the GTB/4 is considered one of the best sports cars of the 1960s. Powered by a Tipo 226 3285.72 cc Colombo V12 it has a claimed output of 300hp (220kW) with a top speed of 268 km/h (167 mph).
The car is expected to sell between $5 million and $7 million USD, though it could go for more as in 2014 a 275 sold for $10 million USD.
