330 GTC vs 275 GTB

design begat emotion begat demand begat higher price.
same with daytona vs 275.

 

Thomas I owned an example of each simultaneously 20 odd years ago. I was smitten with the aesthetics of the 275 but the GTC was a more pleasant car to drive. GTCs appear to be stuck in the mud market-wise.

 

my simplified answer - the closer it looks to a competition car the more its worth - take a 275GTB delivered with an alloy body an outside gas fill and a few extra vents in the rear and the delta is many more millions.

as with artwork there may be important pieces penned by the same artists but the values can be drastically different. IMHO a 275GTB is a masterpiece and a 330GTC is a work of art by a grand master.

 

This is particularly interesting for me. In 1978 I purchased from Luigi Chinetti Sr my 365GTC speciale, a 330GTC with a 4.4 liter typ 245 engine ordered by the Commendatore for his friend, Leopoldo Pirelli. A year or so later Tom Parker, who was the parts mgr and later acquired Chinetti Int'l, asked if he could buy my GTC. I told him that as it was a unique car, it wasn't for sale. He then offered me a flawless low-mileage rosso corsa/nero 275GTB4 for my GTC and $25,000. Said no. Perhaps the worst business decision of my life.

 

Seth, you very well know that buying these cars is not a business decision, but an affair of the heart.

Best regards,

Robert

 

Do I ever, mon Amiral! Not certain I ever mentioned to you that the GTC had been built by Enzo Ferrari especially for his friend, Leopoldo Pirelli, Presidente of his patronymic company, with whom I have had correspondence confirming its provenance. Sr. Pirelli commissioned Campagnolo to design special 15" light magnesium alloy five-star wheels (the standard wheels are 14") that effectively were the prototype for the 365GTB4 Daytona's wheels. Years later Geoff Ohland who had been the parts mgr at Chinetti Int'l Motors, offered me a rosso corsa/nero 275GTB4 for the GTC and $25K; turning that down may have been the dumbest business decision of my life. But I still had the GTC. David Gooding finally sold it at Pebble Beach in 2006 - buyer paid $345K .-After commission and capital gains tax the proceeds bought my 2008 Cadillac CTS, 2006 Cadillac STS-V, 1955 F355 berlinetta, 2004 Maserati Spyder, 1986 412 5-speed and 575M Maranello. I still have the Maranello, 412 and the Cadillacs.

My very warmest wishes to you, HelenAnn and Bryan. It would be wonderful to see you all again. Judith and I returned just Sunday from visiting old friends in Marina del Rey (went out by train! three days in New Orleans to enjoy meals at Antoine's and Galatoire's)

 

"Roush Rule of Racecars"

 

I have owned both. The 275GTB is more fun to drive and in my opinion way better looking. The GTC has a great driving position with fantastic visibility but the engine while torquey has no "on the cam" feel to it. Did I say the 275 is better looking .

 

Mark, I'd put it a bit differently: both are splendid cars with very different personalities: the GTC is a more 'comfortable' car, much better for driving on a long trip; the GTB is a more exciting and more excitable, even nervous car, considerably more at ease on a race track, not so much on along trip.

Drive the GTC, you're dancing with a beautiful young ballerina; drive the GTB, your partner is a fiery flamenco dancer.

just my 2c

 

Beautifully stated. Honestly at this time I would not take either on a long trip. For me they would be a weekend diversion. FWIW I sadly sold them both many years ago but the GTB I, at least, traded for a Daytona which also sadly I no longer own. My GTB (short nose, three carb) had tin worm issues. I might also add the build quality of the GTC was superior.
So many fond memories, so many years ago. I feel lucky to have experienced these cars while they were still cars and not "precious investments." Ownership for me was much more enjoyable then.

 

I am lucky to have driven my GTC on longish trips several times: Easton N Y to and from Washington D C, Saratoga Springs to and from Watkins Glen, both round trips of 800+ miles, and once on a three-day New England rally-tour from the Saratoga Automobile Museum through Connecticut, Massachusetts Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. They are beautiful to behold but Lord, they were splendid to drive!

 

I well remember 1974. I had just finished my medical residency and had to report for active duty in the USAF. Drove the 275 from Manhattan to Montgomery Alabama. A drive I shall never forget. Hit torrential downpours the windshield leaking like a sieve but cruising late at night through N.C. at 100 mph plus with the fantastic exhaust music was pure joy . Miss my youth.

 

Design. And 330 gtc never raced.

 

With more of a sporting focus, the 275 GTB series of cars look like no other Ferraris and unique in design, whereas the 330/365 GTCs have a sporting and luxury mix with visual similarities to the 275 GTS, 330 GT 2+2 and 365 GT 2+2 as well as the limited production 500 Superfast and 365 California.

 

I always felt that the 275GTS was somewhat disappointing. The front looked like a Fiat 124 and back like the GTC. The engine on the GTS was rated at 260HP but believe it was same engine as the GTB which in 3 carb configuration was rated at 280HP if memory serves me correctly. 6 carb was 300HP and GTB/4 was 330HP(had 6 carbs).
I love the old cars which had character and slight differences from car to car. Now to me they are mass produced and look much the same. Quality is better as well as the performance and reliability but the soul has been lost.

 

Both 300 BHP claimed.

 

+275

 

You are correct that the stated HP of the GTB/4 was in fact 300 but reviews of the car often quoted the 330 figure.

 

Ferrari claimed 300 bhp by the European DIN method and this, in the day, translated to 330 bhp calculated by the old SAE Gross method.

 

My 275 GTB/6c was rated 236 HP on the Foglio Montaggio and my 330 GT2+2 was rated 261 HP.
I think the 330 GT engines were generally closer to the claimed HP than many other ones of the same period.

 

Ferrari in the older days often claimed more than actually delivered power levels. 330 was, of course, 4 liters and the 275 3.3 liters

 

I believe this use to be fairly common among many other car manufacturers, especially those with products marketed/targeted toward buyers lured by such claims.

 

Ferrari's power claims were quite accurate until the 1960s, when the marketing department apparently took control.

 

Sounds like today's obsession with horsepower numbers of cars driven mostly by computers and lacking the real joy of interactive driving at all but arrest me speeds or track events.