Steve McQueen’s Ferrari 275 GTB4 restored by Ferrari Classiche

Ferrari Classiche has taken Steve McQueen’s Ferrari 275 GTB4 and put it back to original Coupe form with and-beaten steel panels.

We all know that classic Ferraris are one of the better investments you can make, certainly in the long term.

Just look at the recent sale of a Ferrari 250 GTO for $35 million (new price in the early 1960s was £6k) for evidence of the enormous prices classic Ferraris fetch, certainly the pre-Fiat Ferraris where production numbers were small.

Ferrari Classiche exists at Maranello to authenticate and certificate classic Ferraris as original, a huge plus for owners when they come to sell, which explains why some 3,300 classic Ferraris have been certified to date. But to be certificated by Ferrari the car in question must be original with matching numbers and not subject to modification.

So when Steve McQueen’s Ferrari 275 GTB/4 arrived at Ferrari Classiche there was a problem. At some time in the 1980s a previous owner had decided that he wanted the iconic car converting in to a Spider, which would mean Classiche certification would not be possible.

It may seem like sacrilege now, but in the 1980s a quick bit of work with a set of tin snips and an angle grinder could, to all intents and purposes, turn a 275 GTB4 in to a 275 GTB4 NART, the Spider version of the 275 GTB4 made especially for North America with only 10 ever built by Scaglietti.

But a fake 275 GTB4 Spider won’t pass muster with Ferrari Classiche, so the current owner has wisely allowed Ferrari to turn his pretend spider back in to a Coupe by reproducing the roof and buttresses with hand-beaten steel panels, thus restoring it to original condition and granting it Ferrari Classiche status. And, despite the inevitable cost, ensuring this particular Ferrari 275 GTB4 will be very desirable, and valuable, when it next hits the market.

Even if it will never be worth as much as an original 275 GTB4 Spider, despite the Steve McQueen connection.