Registering to Bid on the Ferrari 275 GTB/4 from the Richard Colton Collection:
- All Registrations to Bid either In Person, via Commission or on the Telephone must be made by 5pm on Tuesday 13th October 2015
- We require passport identification and a bank reference for the total amount, including commission, which you anticipate bidding to
- A £5,000 refundable deposit will be taken upon registering and placed in our Client Account, which will be refunded after the auction
- Internet Bidding will not be available on either vehicle
For further information, please contact Colette McKay on +44 (0) 1925 210035.
H&H are indebted to Ferrari historian and author Keith Bluemel, who has recently inspected chassis 10177 at first hand, for the following report:
'The 275 GTB4 berlinetta was the replacement for the 275 GTB, the main difference being the fitment of a four overhead camshaft, two per bank, V12 engine. It was first shown at the 1966 Paris Salon, and remained in production until March 1968, during which time 330 examples were manufactured in the chassis number range 09007 to 11069, 27 of which were UK imported right hand drive versions.
The 275 GTB4 was virtually identical visually to the "long nose" two camshaft models, and without lifting the bonnet, there was only one easy distinguishing feature. This was the profile of the bonnet, which on the 275 GTB4 had a slim shallow central bulge running from front to rear. As with the two camshaft cars, the Pininfarina designed body was constructed by Scaglietti in Modena, normally in steel with aluminium doors, bonnet, and boot lid, although a few examples received full aluminium bodies. The bodies were mounted on a 2400mm wheelbase chassis that had factory reference numbers 596, and all were numbered in the odd chassis number road car sequence. The chassis was virtually identical to that of the two camshaft car, the revised number being due to minor differences in the drive train layout. Like its predecessor, the four camshaft model was available in right or left hand drive form. The standard wheels were alloy with a ten hole design, similar to those used on the Ferrari sports racing cars of the period, with the option of Borrani wire wheels throughout the production period.
The basic dimensions and layout of the engine were similar to that of the two camshaft unit of the preceding 275 GTB, but fitted with new cylinder heads that featured twin overhead camshafts per bank of cylinders, with factory type reference 226, still of 3286cc capacity, with a bore and stroke of 77mm x 58.8mm, with the sparking plugs sited between the camshafts. The other major difference was the provision of dry sump lubrication. It was fitted with a bank of six Weber 40 DCN9, 17, or 18 carburettors, with a twin coil and rear of engine mounted distributor ignition system, to produce a claimed 300bhp. The engine drove through a shaft in a torque tube, as fitted to late series two camshaft models, running at engine speed to a five speed transaxle, which was independently supported from the chassis frame, and then by drive shafts to the independently suspended rear wheels, that featured the same coil spring and wishbone suspension arrangement as used on the two camshaft 275 GTB model.
Chassis # 10177 is a right hand drive example, which was ordered new by Maranello Concessionaires Ltd from the factory on their order # 296 in February 1967, with a specification of silver paintwork, code 106.E.1 Salchi, a blue leather and cloth interior, leather code VM 3015, light blue carpets, a radio console and the optional Borrani wire wheels. It was delivered to them in July 1967, and road registered by them on UK licence plate SMD 2F, to became their demonstrator model. The factory invoice for the car states only blue leather for the interior, so it is assumed that the cloth seat centres were substituted for full leather.
In December 1967 the car was sold to T.C. Harrison Ltd, a Ford main dealer in Sheffield, for the company owner Mr Cuth Harrison, when it was re-registered on his personal UK licence plate TCH 1. In June 1969 the car was returned to Maranello Concessionaires for sale by them. Mr Harrison retained his personal licence plate, and it was re-registered on UK licence plate VWJ 770F, then sold through Rob Walker (Corsley Garage) Ltd, Warminster, Wiltshire, in August 1969, to a Mr J.E. Renton, of Greywell, near Basingstoke, Hampshire. The registration number was probably the same as re-registered by Maranello Concessionaires in June 1969, i.e. VWJ 770F. There is a letter in the Maranello Concessionaires Archive file indicating that he still owned the car in January 1970. The next owner is understood to have been a Mr W. Locksley-Cook in Westerham, Kent, when it was registered on UK licence plate BC 777, who had purchased it from the Sunningdale Carriage Company, of Sunningdale, Berkshire.
In 1971 the car was once again for sale at Maranello Concessionaires, now on UK licence plate TVB 758F, so Mr Locksley-Cook had clearly retained his personal plate. In July 1971 it was purchased by Mr Robert Horne of Horne Brothers Ltd, the tailors (By Appointment to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II Livery Tailors). He kept the car for a little over a year, and then it was sold through Rose & Young Ltd, of Caterham, Surrey, around September 1972 to a Mr W. R. Curtis of Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, when it was registered on UK licence plate 69 EVE. In his ownership during 1974, the engine was fully rebuilt at 36,215 miles, by Graypaul Motors Ltd, of Loughborough, Leicestershire, and later in the year they also replaced the suspension wishbones, bushes and ball joints. The car was purchased by Richard Colton from Mr Curtis through Maloney & Rhodes Ltd, of Cambridge in November 1974, and was owned by him for over 40 years, up to the time of his passing in March 2015.
At the time that he purchased the car it was painted red, although it is not known when the colour change took place, however it retained its original blue interior. Initially in his ownership it was still on the UK registration number 69 EVE, but at some stage early in his ownership (definitely by 1979), he had the car re-registered on UK licence plate RCO 777. At this time the car had a nudge bar fitted to the nose, although this was subsequently removed, and the quarter bumpers retain plugged fixing holes where this was attached.
In September 1979 he entrusted the car to G.T.C. Engineering of Rushden, Northamptonshire, for a full bare metal re-spray in Mercedes-Benz Astral Silver, code DB375, which was completed in the November of that year. The car was returned to them in the middle of 1986 for further paintwork to be carried out on the bonnet and boot lids, and one front wing. The invoice for this work also has a note about welding up the radiator support bracket, and there is clear evidence of this on the car today. It is almost certain that this was the last time any work was carried out on the paintwork, as close inspection reveals numerous areas of micro-blistering, and there is deeper bubbling on the top edge of the right front wheel arch, together with on the top of the same wing close to the bonnet. The paintwork also has some chips and cracks in various locations on the body. The black paint under the nose and tail of the car does not have the correct perimeter profile or finish. It is currently finished with black underseal, whilst the correct finish is satin black. There is some flaking to the paint on the inside of the bonnet.
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