Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series I by Pininfarina 1966 - World Of Classic Cars -

Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series I by Pininfarina 1966

Introduced at the Brussels Motor Show of January 1964, Ferrari’s 330 GT 2+2 was the replacement for the outgoing 250 GT 2+2, and it notably elevated the prior four-seat platform with advanced mechanical elements and improved aesthetics. Most importantly, the new model received a larger and more powerful version of the Colombo short-block engine that displaced 4.0 liters and was good for 300 horsepower. Factory driver Mike Parkes was a key contributor to the 330’s development, even claiming credit for the eye-catching dual-headlamp front fascia. Single headlamps were adopted with the succeeding second-series cars that appeared in mid-1965, leaving just 625 examples that were built with the double-lamp design.

Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series I by Pininfarina 1966

Chassis number 7515 claims an unusual identity as one of very few transition cars that share features of the first- and second-series 330 GT models. As one of the final Series I examples built, this car is clothed in Pininfarina’s handsome dual-headlight body style, complete with knock-off Borrani wire wheels. Mechanically, the 330 is equipped with some more developed features from the second-series cars, including suspended pedals rather than a floor-mounted pedal box and a five-speed gearbox rather than a four-speed with overdrive. This latter component endows chassis number 7515 with particularly long legs for extended high-speed cruising, a highly desirable attribute in a true GT car.

Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series I by Pininfarina 1966

According to a history by marque historian Marcel Massini, this 330 2+2 was completed at the factory in July 1965 (equipped with air conditioning) and delivered new to Luigi Chinetti Motors. By 1973, the car was owned by Ewing Hunter, a co-owner of FAF Motorcars in Tucker, Georgia, the well-known dealership that was one of the collectable Ferrari hobby’s earliest American institutions. Passing to a chain of Illinois-based caretakers in the early 1980s, this 330 was owned by collector John Weinberger in 1987, by which time it had been repainted in Rosso.

Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series I by Pininfarina 1966

Acquired in 2015 by the consignor, the minimally driven 330 GT 2+2 was treated to a sympathetic restoration that provided for a clutch overhaul, new motor mounts and master cylinder, rebuilt carburetors, new belts and hoses, and a partial rebuild of the engine with new piston rings, rod bearings, and valve guides. The paint and interior continue to present quite well, having been restored under a recent prior caretaker.