A dream drive in the King of Cool’s Prancing Horse
For me, the 275GTB/4 has always been a contender for the best-looking and finest all-round Ferrari of them all – rivalled only by the 250GT SWB that came before it.
With a V12 smoother than that in the 250GT and stunning looks worthy of any poster, the 275 is a true beauty. To drive one on the edge, fresh from restoration? That’s a dream come true.
But to drive this 275? That’s something more remarkable, still. See, this 275 had a rather famous former owner: a certain Steve McQueen – man of Bullitt, Le Mans and The Great Escape fame, legend of ineffable mystique and true Hollywood icon.
And, for some reason, they let me drive it. At Maranello. Home of Ferrari. Here’s what happened.
Stunning then, stunning now
Looking at the 275, there’s no escaping the McQueen connection: the Italian stallion is wearing its 1968 California plates today – WCT 710 – just as it did in period shots with the King of Cool stood beside it.
And if McQueen was admiring his Ferrari, it’s not hard to understand why. Considering there isn’t a straight line on this car, it has an amazing symmetry, from the huge haunches to the lengthy nose.
There are endless intricate details, too: the reversing light tucked under the bumper, the long boot hinges, the front bumpers that arch so neatly into the narrow grille…
Speaks for itself
With such beauty in every element, there’s good reason the 275 displays its Pininfarina lineage so proudly – though the subtle emblems beneath the gills are a far cry from the gaudy overbadging seen on modern Ferrari efforts. If you didn’t already know what this car was, Enzo didn’t need you.
Steve McQueen? He knew exactly what it was – and he wanted it. Finished in Nocciola (a kind of metallic gold) with Nero black interior, chassis 10621 was delivered to the actor in 1967, the year in which he was working on both Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair.
Repainted, retrimmed, retractable
Lee Brown – who prepared the fabled Mustangs for Bullitt – picked up the car for McQueen and took it to his workshop, where it was parked beside the star’s crashed NART Spyder.
Before the Hollywood icon even drove the 275, it was resprayed a deep maroon mixed by Brown and dubbed Chianti Red. The Borrani wheels were removed from the NART and put on the GTB/4, with a custom mirror and retractable aerial, while the seats were retrimmed by drag ace Tony Nancy.
No kid gloves
Thus refinished, McQueen would enjoy it until 1971 – and by enjoy, read thrash: in his own words, the actor reportedly “munched” his 275, and paint guru Junior Conway agreed.
The erstwhile carer of the 275 once recalled that McQueen “drove his Ferraris so hard he broke the spokes on the wheels all the time, so he wound up putting solid rims back on the 275GTB”. And there were even reports of “a small accident to the front of the car”.
Big-money machine
McQueen ran the Ferrari until 1971, when he sold it on to Zorro and Lost in Space star Guy Williams. Thus began a line of ownership – including 16 years with trucking magnate Robert Panella – that culminated in its restoration to Berlinetta specification by Ferrari Classiche, followed by its sale at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction in 2014.
The price? A staggering $10.2m. Talk about star power.
Brawny inner beauty
So, what does such an astonishing sum get you, apart from an incredible tale and a beautiful shell? Well, look under the long hood and you’ll find another work of art: the 275’s Colombo V12 engine – an all-alloy, quad-cam unit with six Weber carburettors and a power output of 300bhp.
It’s the beating heart of a machine that is, in all respects, a proper GT – a glorious, purposeful car good for 160mph and with a boot big enough for a couple of cases. And there’s plenty to enjoy inside, too.
Panoramic perfection
With a steeply raked screen and surprisingly panoramic rear window, all-round visibility is excellent, bar the hefty rear pillars. It really feels like a cabin in which you glide across continents, a glorious blend of finesse and firmness.
The door pull is smoothly curved and the trio of stalks discreet, for example, in contrast with the hefty window winder, the chunky wooden rim of the gorgeous three-spoke wheel and the impressive bank of Veglia dials that faces the driver – including a rev counter that runs to 8000rpm.
Everything else is just waiting
Up front, the thickly padded bucket seats are cosseting, with just enough space behind for extra luggage – overnight bags, perhaps, for those mountain stops on your grand tour.
Not that I’m worried about such frivolities now. I’ve just received the five-minute warning from the marshals: I’m about to take on Fiorano – a tight, tricky track built in 1972 in Enzo Ferrari’s back garden; a 1.86-mile loop of dips and weaves that every enthusiast dreams of driving. And I’m going to tackle it in a one-of-300 Ferrari. That was once Steve McQueen’s.
Get ready for the getaway
First, fire her up. The rumble of the willing V12 soon settles into a smooth idle. Then, a barrier lifts and a man waves us onto the track, the sun glinting off the Ferrari’s shapely curves.
Slide your fingers into the gearlever notches, ease it down and towards you, then lift the clutch – big, but not heavy – and the 275GTB/4 moves away obediently at slow speed. There’s a quick sprint down to the first corner, but with neither brakes, tyres nor gearbox up to operating temperature, you take it easy through that initial tight right-hander.
Poise and performance
It takes a whole lap for the Ferrari’s mechanical components to find their rhythm – and then it is revelatory.
It’s at its absolute best through long sweepers, where its poise is remarkable – though the 275 also makes a good fist of the dash-through-the-gears drag-race, even if such an exercise feels a little vulgar in this legendary car.
The magnificent 275
Once warm, the brakes are superb, as is the gearbox. It baulks at first and you can’t be too gung-ho with changes to start with, but once your mind is programmed to make those deliberate moves, it’s wonderfully slick.
And with every change comes not a violent kick of power but a smooth surge. In fact, such is the civility of the GTB/4 that it would be easy to think it soft – but that’s not the case.
Even when driven at the limit, its appointment and balance allow the driver to focus on what their hands and feet are doing, which only adds to the thrill.
Blip to bring it back
Hit the tightest horseshoe corner at a decent lick and it can be hard work to keep that long nose tucked in – but, as the car starts to wash away across the track, you can bring it back into line using the responsive throttle.
Once mastered, the same technique works everywhere, feeling the Michelin rubber rolling on the rims before snapping upright. Unless you hit a bump mid-corner, in which case it really will spit you out.
The ultimate all-rounder
It’s no surprise that the 275GTB/4 is quick, or that it handles well – but as a proper performance car, something you could take to the race track just as it is, the Ferrari far exceeds expectations.
At the same time, with its smooth ride, sharp steering and flat, neutral handling at sane speeds, it surpasses your hopes in how usable it might be off the track and in the real world.
Far from a split-personality, the 275 has a pure and simple character – a remarkable one that can perform to the same excellent degree both when pottering and at enormous speeds.
A great way to escape
Alas, all too soon an angry Italian man is gesturing, fed up that his despotic flashing signs have been ignored over the last few laps. Acknowledge his wave, ease down a gear and breath.
Rolling into the car park beside the track, you pause for a moment, lost in your own sense of awe. Fiorano to yourself would be thrill enough. A 275GTB/4 anywhere would be a rare privilege in itself. But to combine it all and add that sprinkle of Hollywood stardust? That's an experience that will last a lifetime.
A true dream machine
Whatever your thoughts about the McQueen ‘industry’ – and many (including me, to a degree) have become jaded and sceptical as it has ballooned to such an extent that there was talk of half a million bucks for his tattered old Bullitt geography teacher’s jacket – you have to appreciate what it can achieve.
Without that fever, this story would have been a work of fiction. Indeed, even though I know it happened, and have the photographic evidence, somehow it still seems like it couldn’t exist beyond my imagination.