Ferrari 275

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Ferrari 275
GTB, GTS, GTB/4, NART Spider
Manufacturer: Ferrari
Class: front-engined sports car
Production: 1964 — 1968
970 produced
Predecessor: Ferrari 250
Successor: Ferrari Daytona
275 GTB/GTC
Production: 1964 — 1968
Body styles: Coupe
Engines: 3.3 L V12
275 GTS
Production: 1964 — 1966
Body styles: Spider
Engines: 3.3 L V12
275 GTB/4
Production: 1966 — 1968
Body styles: Coupe
Engines: 3.3 L 4-cam V12
275 GTS/4 NART
Production: 1966 — 1968
Body styles: Spider
Engines: 3.3 L 4-cam V12
Ferrari 275 GTB 4 cam


The Ferrari 275 was a 2-seat front-engined Gran Turismo automobile produced between 1964 and 1968. It used a 3.3 L (3286 cc) Colombo 60° V12 engine and produced 280-300 hp. The Pininfarina-designed body was a graceful evolution of the car's predecessor, the 250, and strongly contrasted with its replacement, the Daytona. The 275 introduced Ferrari's "transaxle" concept, where the transmission and rear axle are integrated.

Motor Trend Classic named the 275 GTB/GTS as number three in their list of the ten "Greatest Ferraris of all time".

Two-cam

275 GTB

The standard GTB coupe was produced by Scaglietti. It was more of a pure sports car than the GT name suggested. A Series Two version with a longer nose appeared in 1965.


1966 FERRARI 275 GTB 2 Long Nose Torque Tube

275 GTS

Pininfarina built 200 GTS roadsters for the American market from 1964-1966 with entirely different bodywork. It was intended to be more of a GT car and less of a sports car than its GTB brother. The 275 GTS was replaced by the 330 GTS with the switch to the four-cam engine, leaving no 3.3 L convertible in the range until the creation of the 275 GTS/4 NART.


275 GTC

12 lightweight GTC cars had aluminium bodywork. Twelve were constructed in between the end of the 275 GTB production run and the start of the 275 GTB/4 run. Even though it very much resembled the road 275 GTB, not one bodypanel was the same and under the lightweight body very little reminded of the road car.

Mauro Forghieri designed a special lightweight version of the 275 GTB chassis. Regular suspension was fitted, but it was made slightly stiffer by the addition of extra springs. Scaglietti bodied the chassis with an ultra thin aluminum body; the panels were about half as thick as the ones used on the GTO and the Cobra. Even leaning on the 275 GTB/C would dent the body and the entire rear section was reinforced by fiberglass to prevent it from flexing at the slightest impact. In all this focus on saving weight made a difference of over 150 kg compared to the alloy bodied road cars.

Like the four specials, the 275 GTB/C was powered by the 250 LM engine. Somehow Ferrari 'forgot' to mention to the governing body that the 275 GTB had a six carburetor option, so only a three 'carb' engine could be homologated. Specifically for the 275 GTB/C, Weber constructed the 40 DF13 carburetor of which three would replace the six 38 DCNs found on the 250 LM. The rest of the drivetrain was similar to the 275 GTB's, but strengthened slightly.

Two of the twelve built were sold for street use. Unlike the race cars, these street cars were fitted with alloy wheels shod with Pirelli tires. Competition cars were fitted with special Borrani wire wheels, shod with Dunlop's latest racing tires. It was this combination that would prove to be the weak spot of the 275 GTB/C; the tires had so much grip that they could overstress and break the spokes on the wheels. After the 275 GTB/C no competition Ferrari would be fitted with wire wheels again.

Four-cam

The four-cam 275s were substantially updated cars. Built by Scaglietti, they featured new bodywork and was the first Ferrari to not be offered with wire wheels.

Power came from a substantially reworked Colombo V12, still with two valves per cylinder but now with dual overhead cams. In a departure from previous Ferrari designs, the valve angle was reduced three degrees to 54° for a more-compact head. The dual camshafts also allowed the valves to be aligned "correctly" (perpendicular to the camshaft) instead of offset as in SOHC Ferraris. It was a dry-sump design with a huge 17 qt (16 L) capacity.

The transaxle was also redesigned. A torque tube connected the engine and transmission, rather than allowing them to float free on the body as before. This improved handling, noise, and vibration. Porsche synchronizers were also fitted for improved shifting and reliability.

275 GTB/4

File:Ferrari 275.jpg
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB 4 cam at Wheels Of Italy

The 1966 GTB/4 featured a four-cam engine with six carburetors. The GTB/4 could hit 165 mph with its 300 hp. 280 of this version were produced through 1968.

In 2004, Sports Car International named the 275 GTB/4 number seven on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s.

File:Ferrari.NART.JPG
1967 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spider at Wheels Of Italy

275 GTS/4 NART

A NART Spider version was only available from a single American dealer, Luigi Chinetti, who was not satisfied with the GTB/4. He asked Sergio Scaglietti and Enzo Ferrari to build a few spider versions of the GTB/4, which he bought for approximately $8,000 each. NART stood for Chinetti's North American Racing Team, and the car was a spider version of the GTB/4. In a contemporary road test, Road & Track commended the Spider as "the most satisfying sports car in the world."

It was to be a custom run of 25 cars straight from Scaglietti, but just 10 were built in 1967 and 1968, making this one of the most valuable Ferraris. NART Spiders often command nearly US$2,000,000 today. The ten NART Spiders used chassis numbers 09437, 09751, 10139, 10219, 10249, 10453, 10691, 10709, 10749, and 11057.


< Ferrari timeline 1948–1967 Ferrari timeline 1960s-1990s Ferrari timeline 1990–Present >
Type 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
8 cylinder Mid-engine berlinetta 308 308 i 308 QV 328 348 360
208 208 Turbo GTB/GTS Turbo F355
Mid-engine 2+2 308 GT4 Mondial 8 Mondial QV Mondial 3.2 Mondial t
208 GT4
12 cylinder Boxer berlinetta 365 BB 512 BB 512i BB Testarossa 512TR F512M
Grand tourer 250 275 365 GTB/4
"Daytona"
550 Maranello
America 330 365
2+2 coupé 250 GT/E 330 GT 2+2 365 GT 2+2 365GTC/4 GT4 2+2 400 400 i 412 456 456 M
Supercar 250 GTO 250 LM 288
GTO
F40 F50
Sold under the Dino marque until 1976; see also Ferrari Dino