Mecum is about to put one very particular Ferrari below the hammer at its public sale operating subsequent month in Kissimmee, Florida.

The automotive is a 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale bearing chassis quantity 6701, and it is one in all simply three examples constructed, making it one of many rarest Ferraris in existence.

It final went below the hammer in 2014, and on the time offered for $26.4 million. Mecum hasn’t supplied an estimate however a better determine is probably going this time round. Along with inflation, the present proprietor additionally gave the numbers-matching automotive an intensive restoration, returning it to its unique Rosso Cina shade of purple, from the Grigio Scurro Metalizatto silver it wore for many of its life.

Following the conclusion of its 250 GTO racing program in 1964, Ferrari was seeking to make the swap to the mid-engined 250 LM, which the automaker had already proven in 1963. Nevertheless, Ferrari was unable to homologate the 250 LM for GT racing in 1964, and thus the corporate launched an up to date model of the 250 GTO for that season, in addition to the 275 GTB/C Speciale based mostly on the 275 GTB highway automotive.

1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale bearing chassis no. 6701 – Photograph credit score: Mecum

Simply three of the 275 GTB/C Speciales have been constructed, between 1964 and early ’65, and a kind of automobiles is chassis no. 6701. One other is the instance owned by late racer and collector Preston Henn. Henn’s automotive, which bears chassis no. 6885, is the one instance that competed, together with operating on the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans the place it completed first within the GT class and third general. In a race the place mid-engined automobiles turned more and more dominant, that end stays one of the best by a front-engined automotive to this present day. The rarity and racing pedigree has led to valuations for Henn’s automotive exceeding the $100 million mark.

Just like the extra well-known 250 GTO, the 275 GTB/C Speciale is each a murals and a feat of engineering. Its tube-frame chassis is clothed in aluminum panels formed by Scaglietti. The aluminum panels have been about half as thick as these of the highway automobiles, making them vulnerable to denting. The Speciales additionally used thinner chassis tubes to cut back weight. All instructed, they weighed as a lot as 300 kilos lower than the highway automobiles.

In addition they packed extra energy. Underneath the lengthy hood sits a 3.3-liter V-12 with six Weber carburetors and a 315-hp output, 69 horses greater than the road-going 275 GTB. The automotive additionally options double-wishbone impartial suspension in any respect 4 corners, and four-wheel disc brakes.

The automotive is lot no. S195.2 for Mecum’s public sale, which can run from Jan. 2-14.