For Sale at Auction: 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 in Carmel, California

Chassis No. 16225
Engine No. 00424

The 365 GTC/4 arrived in 1971 as Ferrari's answer to two different customers at once, replacing both the two-seat 365 GTC and the four-place 365 GT 2+2. Pininfarina drew a fastback body evoking the Daytona but with a lower profile and a thinner nose, an execution that traded the Daytona's sweeping curves for a modern angular look. Under the hood sat a 4.4-liter four-cam Colombo V12 derived from the Daytona's engine, fed by six side-draft Webers and tuned for more torque, delivering 335 horsepower in Rest-of-World specification. The result is a car that pairs everyday usability, power steering included, with a V12 that many consider the best-sounding Ferrari ever built. With 500 examples produced against the 1,284 Daytonas built over the same era, the GTC/4 is considerably harder to find today than its thoroughbred stablemate.

Chassis number 16225 left Maranello in July 1972 as the 417th 365 GTC/4 built, finished in Blu Ribot (2.443.031) over Pelle Nera Cogolo leather. According to marque historian Marcel Massini, the car was among a small group, just 49 in total, finished in this stunning shade, and among ten examples of the model dispatched to the Beirut showroom of Elie Ayache, the marque's official dealer in Lebanon. Ferrari's factory records list its delivery in November 1972.

By the mid-1970s the GTC/4 had moved on from Beirut, passing to Achilli Motors S.r.l. in Milan, the multi-marque dealership run by Bruno Achilli. From there the car crossed the Atlantic, exported to the United States before the 1970s were out. Massini's research places 16225 under the ownership of Michael Filicetti of North York, Ontario, by the 1990s, who showed the car at the 32nd Annual Ferrari Club of America National Meeting and Concours d'Elegance, held across Mid-Ohio and Columbus in May 1995.

At a point during its North American ownership the GTC/4 was refinished from its original Blu Ribot exterior to black, with the cabin retrimmed to a red-and-black specification. By 2016, the car had become the subject of a rotisserie, nut-and-bolt restoration initiated by Grand Prix Cafe in Southampton, New York, with the mechanical rebuild entrusted to the specialists at Miller Motorcars in Connecticut.

Invoices on file chronicle the extensive mechanical work, which began with removal of the engine and transmission for disassembly. The engine was fully rebuilt, with its six Weber DCOE carburetors rebuilt and rejetted, the ignition distributor rebuilt, and the block and covers stripped and repainted correctly. The five-speed was rebuilt with early-style 3/4 gear sets, a new cluster and fifth gear, and new synchronizer rings and bearings. Front and rear suspension were rebuilt with new springs, shocks, bushings, and control arm components, while the braking system received new steel lines, rebuilt calipers, and a rebuilt master cylinder and booster. Fuel, oil, and coolant systems were refreshed with new hoses and pumps, heater cores were cleaned and reinstalled, and various electrical faults were traced and repaired throughout the car. Correspondence between Miller Motorcars and Grand Prix Cafe documents the total invoiced charges across the mechanical restoration exceeding $160,000.

In 2023 the car was taken down to bare metal in preparation for cosmetic restoration, the body stripped of its black paint and coated in an enamel primer ahead of refinishing. Chassis 16225 remained in this freshly rebuilt but unfinished state until 2025, when Miller Motorcars was again entrusted to perform a full glass-out repaint in the original shade of Blu Ribot. In addition, the GTC/4 received an oil service, new spark plugs, and a flush of the brake fluid, while the carburetors were tuned and balanced. David North of Marelli Distributor Service was engaged to rebuild and recurve the distributor. All told, some $55,000 was spent to bring the Ferrari to its current level of presentation.

Resplendent in its spectacular factory color and boasting a stunning recent restoration, this long-legged grand tourer offers tremendous rarity and performance and is undoubtedly one of the most attractive 365 GTC/4s to have emerged from the Maranello factory gates.