During the 1950s-1960s Golden Age of European GT-class racing, Ferrari dominated virtually every event, ranging from hill climbs and rallies to circuit and endurance races. The 250 GT Competition Berlinetta, immortalized as the Tour de France after scoring four consecutive wins in that grueling and diverse event from 1956 through 1959, exemplified Ferrari’s GT-class success during that glorious era. The low-production 250 GTO, the ultimate evolution of the 250 GT concept based on the 250 GT Short Wheelbase Berlinetta (SWB), garnered an impressive string of important wins across Europe and scored three consecutive GT Manufacturers’ Championships (1962- 64) for Ferrari; however, its low production and specialization for racing made its homologation as a GT-class racing car a questionable and famously contentious affair with FIA officials. Meanwhile, the rising prowess of Carroll Shelby’s Ford V-8 powered Cobra and its faster derivative, the Daytona Coupe, piloted by fast-rising American drivers, seriously threatened to unseat Ferrari by 1965. The 250 GTO’s planned successor, the 330 LMB, sometimes referred to as the 4.0L GTO, was strictly a prototype from the outset, and the radical 250 LM and larger- displacement 275 LM were denied GT accreditation by the FIA and classified as prototypes. Undaunted, Ferrari repurposed its new-for-1965 road model, the 3.3L 275 GTB, for GT-class competition. Debuted at Paris in October 1964, the 275 GTB was extremely sophisticated and well suited as the basis for GT-class competition as Ferrari’s first road model with such advanced features as 4-wheel independent suspension, disc brakes all around and ideal weight distribution courtesy of a new 5-speed rear transaxle. Over the next several months, the Ferrari competition department built a small handful of 275 GTB/LM “Speciale” models. The cars received a special chassis based on the Tipo 563 design, but the unit was actually a special lightweight racing frame constructed of smaller and lighter tubes. Powering the new race car was a 275 LM engine, designated Tipo 213 and producing upwards of 300 HP at 7,750 RPM. Bodywork was made by Scaglietti of super-lightweight, thin-gauge aluminum and more streamlined than the standard 275 GTB design with bulged rear fenders accommodating larger wheels and tires. Plexiglass side and rear windows helped shed additional weight. Interestingly, the competition cars were measurably smaller than their roadgoing counterparts. Just a few first-series 275 GTB competition cars were produced by Ferrari, including this 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/LM Competizione Speciale, S/N 06701. When the new 275 GTB competition model was submitted for homologation to the FIA, officials refused to accept the 1,915-pound minimum weight quoted on the homologation paperwork, insisting on the 2,425-pound weight quoted in the sales brochure for the basic 275 GTB road cars. While Ferrari agreed to the higher weight, it also issued a press release stating it agreed to the higher number but would now cease its
