• One of the most iconic and desirable of all 1950s GT Ferraris
• The third of just five 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ to be bodied by Zagato
• The final of only three examples to feature the carrozzeria’s iconic “double-bubble” roof; the only “double-bubble” example with covered headlights
• Finished 2nd in class and 6th overall at the 1957 Mille Miglia; the final “original” Mille Miglia
• Ten podium finishes and five class victories in more than a dozen period races
• Fully matching-numbers example containing its original engine, transmission, and rear axle
• Pebble Beach award-winning restoration carried out to original specification
• Offered publicly for the first time in almost 25 years, a truly landmark opportunity

Gazing at the flowing, muscular lines of the Zagato-bodied Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’, it is easy to imagine the impression that this striking racer must have made shortly after it was completed in the spring of 1957. Pictured amid rolling countryside and twisting roads lined with poplars, you can almost hear the stillness of a summer haze punctured by the aggressive blip of an accelerator, a crisp downshift, and the mighty V-12 roar that follows as the throttle is pinned once more to the floor. Mouths would have dropped as the scarcely believable exotic flashed by, a blur of black, silver, and glinting brightwork that left behind only dust and the faint aroma of burning brakes and hot engine oil. With its sweeping lines, iconic double-bubble roof, faired-in headlamps, and two-tone paintwork, chassis 0665 GT must have looked like a visitor from another planet—one with no earthly business among the humdrum Fiat 500s and buzzing Piaggio Apes that characterized Italian roads of the 1950s.

But like so many of the most remarkable designs to emerge from Italy, this significant automobile was born not of the La Dolce Vita Tuscan idyll but of the industrial northern heartland that played host to the country’s most celebrated carrozzeria—specifically, Milan and the workshops of Zagato. Like Enzo Ferrari, the success of Ugo Zagato’s eponymous coachbuilder was tied to Alfa Romeo. During the decade that began with the founding of Scuderia Ferrari and ended with Enzo’s ascension to Sporting Director of Alfa Romeo, Zagato established itself as a coachbuilder of real substance, with early projects including the sublime competition-focussed 6C 1750 and 8C 2900. It was almost destined that the two great names would collaborate after Ferrari struck out on his own and, in 1949, Zagato transformed the 166 MM into a lightweight and sleek aerodynamic coupé—the first-ever closed Ferrari—dubbed the Panoramica.

In 1952, Ferrari launched its 250 platform, a remarkable series of gran turismos that spanned the breadth of road and race, almost entirely unified by their use of Gioacchino Colombo’s genius 2,953-cc V-12 engine. Among the most celebrated of these models was the 250 GT Berlinetta. Initially a boulevardier bodied by Pinin Farina, the model only found serious competition success following the launch of a more sporting Scaglietti-bodied variant at the 1956 Geneva Motor Show. The car quickly gained the ‘Tour de France’ moniker following Alfonso de Portago’s stunning victory in the 6,000-kilometer, seven-day French epic, which fired the starting pistol for the model’s most successful period in motorsport.

Some 77 examples of the 250 GT ‘Tour de France’ would be built, but none would be more special than a select group of five long-wheelbase cars designed and built by Carrozzeria Zagato. The collaboration resulted in arguably one of the most attractive cars to ever wear the Prancing Horse badge. But it was not just a beautiful machine—Zagato famously believed that coachwork should not only enhance aesthetics but also performance. Indeed, that the car was so breathtaking to behold was almost a happy accident, such was the focus on weight-saving and aerodynamic efficiency.

Chassis 0665 GT was just the third of the five Zagato-bodied cars to be built, the sixth Ferrari built with Zagato coachwork, and the final example of the initial trio to feature the firm’s iconic double-bubble roofline. It was also a more resolved design than the early cars, benefitting from covered headlamps astride a narrowed grille and a softened rear end, among myriad numerous smaller stylistic changes. While the design was informed and improved by the earlier cars, Zagato no doubt also benefitted from the insight of its first owner, Camillo Luglio, who had also commissioned chassis 0537 GT a year earlier. Said to have been close with Ugo Zagato, the gifted racer paid regular visits to Milan while the car was being bodied.

This special ‘Tour de France’ was ordered on behalf of Camillo Luglio by his wife, Mrs Cornelia Vassalli, and was built at Maranello between January and April 1957. It was registered in April of that year and was entered into the Giro di Sicilia by its new owner that same month, who finished an impressive 5th overall and 2nd in class. That outing proved a useful shakedown run for what would be the car’s greatest challenge: the 1957 Mille Miglia. Luglio partnered with Umberto Carli for the race, which took place less than a month after the car’s Giro success. It lined up on 11 May wearing #441 and an advertisement for Idriz, a company that specialized in effervescent digestive powders; the pairing is believed to be one of the earliest examples of motorsport sponsorship.

With the early retirement of Stirling Moss and his experimental 4.5-litre Maserati, the race became an all-Ferrari affair, with the Scuderia leading from start to finish and claiming eight out of the top 10 positions. Piero Taruffi proved the victor, closely followed by Wolfgang von Trips, with 3rd position taken by Belgian Olivier Gendebien in a Scaglietti-bodied “14 Louvre” ‘Tour de France’. Equally impressive was the performance of Camillo Luglio and chassis 0665 GT, who brought the spectacular Zagato-bodied Ferrari home a remarkable 6th overall and 2nd in class to Gendebien—an astounding result for a privateer in one of the most technical and grueling tests of endurance in motorsport. Luglio’s success marked the end of an era for the Mille Miglia, with 1957 becoming the event’s final year in its original thousand-mile flat-out road racing glory.

Following its impressive result at the Mille Miglia, chassis 0665 GT was entered into a number of races and hillclimbs throughout 1957. On 30 June, Luglio finished 6th overall and 1st in class at the Mont Ventoux Hillclimb, and on 13–14 July, the Italian paired with Francois Picard for the 12 Hours of Reims, finishing an impressive 5th overall. In the same month, Luglio finished 6th overall and 2nd in class at the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb. The car also took class wins at the Bruno & Fofi Vigorelli Trophy and the Coppa Constantini, and in September, Luglio finished 1st in class at the Coppa Inter-Europa at Monza. The year’s competition was concluded with an outright win at the Pontedecimo-Giovi Hillclimb on 29 September.
Luglio entered the 250 GT into the 3 Hours of Pau in March 1958 but never took to the start line; instead, the Ferrari was sold to Vladimiro Galluzzi—former owner of the first Zagato-bodied ‘Tour de France’, 0515 GT—prior to being refurbished by Zagato and painted claret red the following month. Galluzzi immediately took 0665 GT back to the racetrack, racing in late April at the Coppa San Marino and then in May at the Mille Miglia Rally. Galluzzi achieved his first podium result with a 2nd at the Campiano/Vetta d’Enza race meeting in July, followed by a 3rd place at the Coppa Sant Ambroeus at Monza in November 1958.

In 1959, Galluzzi sold chassis 0665 GT to the Milanese Ferrari dealership Gastone Crepaldi, and it was then imported to the United States via broker Viviano Corradini before being sold to one J.C. Meade. Meade is believed to have raced the car just once before selling it to E. Marshall in 1967. By 1972, the car had passed to William H. Wright of Berks County, Pennsylvania. Later moving to Franklin, Tennessee, Wright began a restoration that was still unfinished when the car found a new home in Indiana with Richard Milburn in 1976. Milburn had greater success with the rebuild, displaying the rolling chassis at the 14th Ferrari Club of America Annual Meeting at Watkins Glen in June 1977; the restoration was completed late that year. Shortly after its completion, the car was sold to Ed Weschler of Wisconsin, who displayed the finished article at the 1978 Ferrari Club of America annual meeting at Road Atlanta. He, in turn, sold the car to Peter Kaus, and it was exported to Germany to join his famed Rosso Bianco Collection. The car remained a significant part of the collection until 1999, when it was acquired by a renowned US collector.

Upon its arrival in the US, the car was fully restored and painted metallic silver by the acclaimed Ferrari specialists at Wayne Obry’s Motion Products of Neenah, Wisconsin. Following the restoration, the car was selectively shown on the US concours circuit, including being displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2004, the Cavallino Classic in 2005—where it won a Platinum Award—and the Amelia Island Concours in 2006. Subsequently, the car was restored to its 1957 Mille Miglia colour scheme of gunmetal grey with a contrasting silver roof and triumphantly won 1st in class at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, alon