One of the most exciting life stories of an exceptional car like the Ferrari 330 GT Series II is so exciting and entertaining to read that you won't want to put this classic down. Packed in three bulging folders and a book with a photographic history of the entire, almost 60-year life, this is the ideal reading material for the motorist for an entire weekend!
What has happened so far sounds promising and inevitably leads to the realization - this wonderfully beautiful GT wants to be driven, cared for and looked after for many more decades.
In January 1967, Franco B. from Milan decided to buy the Ferrari 330 GT presented to him, in order to take it over in March 1967, registered and with a full tank. (You may be wondering how we know about the full tank? Well, because it was agreed with the dealer and the original purchase contract and order are available. We are assuming that the dealer who delivered the car was not stingy with the purchase price of many millions of lire and kept his agreement)
Signore Franco B. (first owner) is after a new car 8 years later (1975), which is why our protagonist is handed over to his second owner, Dr. Rodolfo Z.
He is not only a Ferraristi, but also the president of the automobile club in his region in Udine/Friuli and also lives in Luxembourg, where the Ferrari was registered in 1975 and driven regularly. Judging by the documents and historical records, he is almost a “daily driver”! After all, it was driven until it reached a mileage of around 149,000 km, before finally falling into a deep sleep in its owner's garage in 1982, which only ended after the death of Mr. Dottore Rodolfo Z. in 2010 - his widow revealed one of Luxembourg's best-kept secrets and decided to sell her late husband's Ferrari. This great event for a Ferrari and a Ferraristi was published in words and pictures as the cover story of a well-known specialist magazine and made the 330 GT a minor celebrity as one of the few examples in the world that had been preserved in its original state.
Back to the spectacular sale in 2010 as the estate of the said widow.
The new owner debated for a long time whether he should restore the 330 at all and, if so, to what extent, and finally decided: the Ferrari deserves to be revived (after almost 30 years in the previous owner's garage, this was certainly a sensible decision...). It is important to know that the line between a soulless full restoration and the almost equally laborious preservation of a patinated interior, a factory-fitted roof lining, carpet, dashboard and all instruments, switches, etc. is a very fine one! If you overshoot the mark, you risk losing the harmony between the unobtainable charm of an interior that has aged with honor, which reminds both driver and passengers on every trip that they can enjoy this with an almost 60-year-old but incredibly well-preserved top-class automobile. No age cracks on the dashboard, no worn-out driver's seat, no parcel shelf hanging in tatters, nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - forces the occupants to wink benevolently behind rose-tinted glasses and put a positive spin on a desolate interior.
On the contrary, this entire interior is the center and the sum of its incredible charisma. You couldn't feel more comfortable and safe in a passenger compartment that has been part of an endless number of stories for almost 6 decades and over 150,000 km, which are told to you during a drive.
In contrast to the first-class, original interior, the new owner decided in 2010 to overhaul the entire technology (engine, transmission, rear axle differential, front/rear axles, all brakes, etc.) without compromise, to renew where necessary, but to restore most of it, in other words to literally make all of the existing and salvageable parts of the Ferrari new from old!
In our opinion, a restoration couldn't be more noble, because it corresponds to the meaning and goal of automotive culture worth preserving.
Remember - the replaced technology, interior and bodywork are new. All well and good.
But they can never be restored to their original state. A unique opportunity has been missed. Authenticity is lost forever and irreplaceable. It is not for nothing that the resolution of the Turin Charter tells us exactly that - the highest and purest form of historic automobiles are without doubt those that are kept as original as possible and are therefore also the most valuable examples.
