Yahoo Autos This 1968 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spider Could Be Yours for $26 Million
While it's impossible to say definitively which is the greatest Ferrari of all time, the 275 GTS/4 NART Spider makes an extremely compelling case for itself. It's a notable occasion anytime a NART Spider comes up for sale, given just 10 were built. RM Sotheby's will auction this particular example, the very last one manufactured, at its Monaco auction next month, and the auction house estimates it could draw up to $26 million.
I'd say that price makes a 488 Spider seem like a 1994 Miata in comparison, but that's probably an understatement. Still, this is arguably the ultimate open-top Ferrari, and among the greatest cars to wear the prancing horse badge. Based on the magnificent 275 GTB coupe, Ferrari built the NART Spider at the request of Luigi Chinetti, the official U.S. importer for Ferrari.
So what do you get for your estimated bid of $21.5 million to $26 million? For starters, a 3.3-liter "Colombo" V12 making around 300 horsepower courtesy of six twin-throat Weber carburetors, spinning a five-speed gearbox. Manual, of course.
This particular car was the only NART Spider originally delivered in Europe, and it left the factory wearing grey Grigio Scuropaintwork. It was painted the candy apple red shade you see here sometime between 2000 and 2001, and received a new tan interior in 2009.
Chinetti, who ran Ferrari's North American Racing Team (hence the name), had a difficult time selling the NART Spider in its day, making it an ultimate collectable now. The more luxurious 330 GTS apparently had a greater appeal than the more sporty 275 GTS/4 when new. Relative to today's Ferraris, the NART Spider would be analogous to a drop-top F12berlinetta.
A one-owner 275 GTS/4 NART Spider sold for $27.5 million at a charity auction in 2013, so RM's lofty estimate doesn't seem unreasonable. We'll know for sure when it crosses the auction block on May 14th.
