Words: Matthew Barker
Peter Sellers’ much-loved Ferrari 275 GTB4 could be yours – at a price
Cars once owned by famous names can fetch some hefty prices at auction. John Lennon’s 1965 Ferrari 330 GT went for £360,000 (€453,000) in 2013, while Steve McQueen’s 275 GTB/4 famously fetched $10 million (€8.8m) at Pebble Beach in 2014.
No one’s expecting you to go paying that much, but if you do happen to be in the market for one of the 300 275 GTB/4s created, and fancy the added bonus of buying a car with some pop-cultural lineage, then perhaps a trip out to the countryside just north-west of London is in order.
Dealership DK Engineering currently has on its list a 275 GTB/4, previously owned by the British comedian Peter Sellers. The three-time Oscar-nominated star of the Pink Panther films owned several Ferraris, including a 250 GTE that made an appearance in 1963’s crime caper The Wrong Arm of the Law.
The 275 drew inspiration from Ferrari’s racing pedigree, with a 3.3-litre quad-cam engine and 300hp output. Presented at the 1966 Paris Auto Show, it was a car that set the template for glamorous grand touring, enjoying particular popularity in the US, where it was imported by Luigi Chinetti.
Sellers’ 275 GTB/4 was originally finished in Celeste blue, but was later repainted in Rosso, with a black leather interior and a sprinkling of comedic magic dust. For more information, visit dkeng.co.uk