A rare Ferrari 275 GTB4 that originally belonged to fabled American movie actor Steve McQueen, who took delivery of the Italian sports car in San Francisco while filming the 1968 movie Bullitt, has been sent to Ferrari Classiche for a complete restoration.
Ferrari Classiche is an official arm of the Italian brand that provides restoration and maintenance services, technical assistance and Certificates of Authenticity to owners of classic Ferraris
At some point during the 1980s when under previous ownership, the car had been converted from a Coupe to an open top Spider.
Originally, the 275 GTB4’s current owner brought the car to Ferrari Classiche for the company’s authenticity certification process. However, Ferrari has a very strict policy when it comes to its classic models providing a certification only if a car remains in exactly the same specifications as when it left the factory.
As a result, the current owner of the car decided to return the 275 GTB4 to its original coupé form with Ferrari Classiche undertaking the restoration by reproducing the roof and buttresses with hand-beaten steel panels.
The Italian company says it’s a sound investment as classic Ferraris have been breaking one price record after the other in auctions with a 250 GTO built for Stirling Moss recently changing hands for a baffling $35 million.
Back in 1990, a 1962 example of the 250 GTO set a then record auction price of $10,756,833, which was broken in 2008 by another Ferrari model, a 1961 250 California sold by RM Auctions for $10,910,592, itself beaten in 2011 with the sale of 1957 250 Testa Rossa for $16.39 million.
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