• Built especially for Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis
• Retains its matching-numbers V-12 engine
• One of 598 examples built from 1966 through 1968
• Subject of a concours-quality restoration by Gary Bobileff of San Diego, California completed June 2023
• Documented provenance from new; accompanied by a history report by marque expert Marcel Massini

The Ferrari 330 GTC was introduced in Geneva just two years after the 330 GT 2+2, and it embodied the best of both worlds between the comparatively plush 330 GT 2+2 and the more hardcore 275 GTB. The 330 GTC used the same steering, suspension, and transmission as the 275 GTB, and these features, coupled with a wheelbase that was 10 inches shorter than the 330 GT 2+2, made the GTC much more dynamic to drive. Perhaps the most sporting characteristic of the 330 was its engine. The 330 GTC’s “Colombo” V-12 produced 300 hp and had a top speed of 150 mph, with a 0–60 mph time of under seven seconds.

With the shorter wheelbase, the 330 GTC lost its rear seats and gained a rear luggage shelf. Like the beautiful 250 Lusso, the 330 GTC had very thin A- and B-pillars, giving the cabin an open feeling and incredible visibility from all angles. At the end of the 330 series’ production run, total numbers for the GTC stood at 598.

Chassis 10639 is an especially intriguing example of this celebrated grand tourer. Completed in November 1967, the car was sold that same month to its first owner, world-renowned shipping magnate Aristole Onassis. Perhaps best-known for marrying Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of President John F. Kennedy, Onassis was a brilliant businessman who self-made his multibillion-dollar fortune through amassing the world’s largest private shipping fleet. He was also a well-known Ferrari client, owning several of the marque’s most coveted offerings including a 275 GTB/4, 330 GT 2+2, and the 330 GTC presented here.

Onassis specified an array of bespoke touches on his 330 GTC, most notably the Rosso Cina (20456 S) over Nero Franzi leather finishes. Additional custom features included polished stainless steel rocker panel covers, a custom chromed bumper to protect the grille and bodywork, leather-clad padded dashboard, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. During Onassis’ curation, chassis 10639 would enjoy regular servicing by the Ferrari factory in Modena, Italy. A report by marque historian Marcel Massini documents at least eight of these services stretching into July 1968 and showing the roughly 20,000 kilometers added by Onassis during his ownership.

In late 1968 Onassis sold 10639 to official Ferrari dealer M. Gastone Crepaldi S.a.s. of Milan, Italy. Crepaldi then sold the car to American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti of Greenwich, Connecticut in March 1969. Chinetti would have the car serviced at the Ferrari factory one final time before importing it to the United States in June 1969.

The first documented American owner was well-known Ferrari enthusiast Benjamin F. Bailar. A renowned businessman and academic, Bailar served as US Postmaster General from 1975 to 1978. After Bailar, ownership passed to Ferrari Club of America member Darryl G. Marwitz, who displayed the car at Ron Spangler’s Prancing Horse Farm Invitational held in Bel Air, Maryland and at the Ferrari Club of America’s 1980 Hershey Meet, where it won 2nd in class.

After Marwitz, the car passed to Nelson Griesheimer of Pennsylvania, who would in turn sell the car in 1990 to another Pennsylvania-based enthusiast; they then stored the car for the next three decades. After being discovered following its decades of slumber, 10639 passed to the consignor, who commissioned a full restoration by the renowned Gary Bobileff of San Diego, California. Bobileff painstakingly returned the car to its original Aristotle Onassis specifications.

The 330 GTC stands among the best driver’s cars produced by Maranello in the 1960s, and it remains a popular choice for vintage driving events or concours presentation. This gorgeous example, with fascinating provenance and a fresh restoration, will no doubt thrill its next caretaker for years to come.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo23.