1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series I ‘Interim’
1 of just 9 RHD 'Interim' cars

Registration No: T.B.A
Chassis No: 7191GT
MOT: Exempt

• Exceptionally rare, right-hand drive ‘Interim’ example (according to Kerry Chesbro’s authoritative 330GT.com website all but 9 of the 124 made were to LHD specification)
• Combines the styling of the Series I cars with the mechanical refinements of the Series II including a five-speed manual gearbox, uprated Dunlop servo, ‘hanging’ pedals and wider wire wheels
• Matching numbers throughout: engine, gearbox, body, propshaft etc.
• Supplied new through Maranello Concessionaires in July, 1965, to Captain F. G. Barker of Hannington, Wiltshire
• Exhaustively restored to original specification over a six-year period and refinished in its factory colours of Celeste Blue with Black leather upholstery
• Costing some £218,000, the refurbishment was project managed by the respected Ferrari specialist Peter Higgins Sports Cars
• Believed genuine 59,000 miles from new with just 50 or so of those being completed since the car’s rejuvenation

PLEASE NOTE: As this lot has been off the road pre-restoration since before DVLA computerisation, the car has dropped off the DVLA database. The new V5C was applied for by the vendor last week for the registration number 'DYX 5C', which it is hoped it will retain, but has not yet been received back from the DVLA.

Making its public début at the January, 1964, Brussels Motor Show (though production had commenced late the previous year), the 330 GT 2+2 was an important model for Ferrari. The sales success of its 250 GTE predecessor had proven that there was a definite market for machinery which offered Ferrari's customary performance levels but in a more discreet and practical package. Enzo Ferrari himself is known to have favoured his company's 2+2 designs when it came to personal transport, so perhaps unsurprisingly, the newcomer's longer wheelbase Tipo 571 chassis heralded notable improvements in ride quality and braking efficiency. Featuring independent double wishbone front suspension and a leaf-sprung rear axle with twin radius arms per side, the 330 GT also boasted a front anti-roll bar and adjustable Koni shock absorbers. The four-wheel disc brake system was initially operated viâ a twin master cylinder, dual servos and two fluid reservoirs, meaning that the front and rear discs each had their own dedicated circuit. Revised engine mounts ensured that the incoming Tipo 209 3,967cc V12 was less intrusive than when it had been installed aboard the short-lived 330 America (the last of the line 250 GTE derivative which accounted for just fifty sales). Derived from Gioacchino Colombo's masterful design, the imposing SOHC powerplant was credited with developing 300bhp and 288lb. ft. of torque.

Allied to a four-speed manual plus overdrive transmission, it reputedly enabled the Ferrari to sprint from 0-60mph in 6.3secs. and onto 152mph. Styled by Tom Tjaarda of Pininfarina, the 330 GT sported a generous glasshouse, well-resolved silhouette and distinctive quad headlamps. The latter were a trend that American manufacturers had popularised and which even Rolls-Royce and Bentley had adopted, though they also facilitated faster ‘after dark' motoring. Supplanted by the more generic-looking Series II in 1965, only 503 Series I 330 GTs were made, plus 124 Interim cars, with the Interim cars featuring a five-speed manual gearbox, upgraded brakes, wider wire wheels and electric windows.

For any Ferrari enthusiast, the most desirable 330 GTs are ones with matching numbers, presented in their original specification, and either in good unrestored condition or else restored to a concours standard. For British enthusiasts specifically, nothing is more covetable than an original right-hand drive example—of which just nine ‘Interim’ cars were reputedly manufactured—with history from new. It is with the greatest pleasure that we present chassis 7191GT, which fulfils each one of those criteria.

A very desirable Series I “Interim” model with the five-speed gearbox, uprated brakes and electric windows, 7191GT was sold new through Maranello Concessionaires to Captain F. G. Barker of Lushill, Hannington, Wiltshire, with registration number ‘DYX 5C’. Fred Barker (1937-2025) attained his rank while serving with the 11th Hussars, but was still very young when he took over his parents’ stud farm, and he bought the Lushill Estate in 1962. Lushill House had been built in 1797, but was extensively modified in the Victorian period and when bought it was deemed “a derelict Georgian-Victorian monster, overgrown by gardens which hadn’t been touched since before the war.” Barker demolished the house, but to his great credit the new house he commissioned was a harmonious Georgian Revival effort at a time when architectural traditionalism was far from encouraged. He farmed Lushill for many years, while continuing to sire race-winning thoroughbreds and becoming, in the words of Country Life, a “foxhunting legend.” Though equines were always his first love, he was a car enthusiast and notably contested the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon with fellow Hussar David Dollar in a Mercedes-Benz 280S, winning the amateur class and finishing eighteenth overall out of 100 entries.

As purchased, 7191GT was finished in the delectable Celeste colour, with Black leather upholstery and carpets and Light Grey roof lining. With purchase tax, one year’s road tax, and Ace Silver Peak number plates, the total cost was £6,542 10s. 6d., but Barker part-exchanged his old 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE, chassis 3959GT, against it for a £3,100 reduction.

It is not known for how long Barker kept the car, but it is understood to have been owned at one stage by a Robert Blake of Coventry, though a 1973 tax disc was issued in York. By the early 1980s, it was in Florida, about to receive a restoration which was “of its time.” Predictably repainted in Rosso Corsa, the mania for red even extended to the restorers spraying the Borrani wheels! Pieces of history point to the Ferrari being advertised for sale in Autotrader by the Haberson & Swanson RV Center of Clearwater, and being owned by Ron Henrion and Alan D. Markley, both also of Clearwater.

In 1986, a new owner purchased the Ferrari from Mr. Markley and repatriated it. The 330 GT was enjoyed for a time, notably participating in the 1989 Norwich Union Classic, and remained in occasional use until 2005, when it was taken off the road. It was eventually sold at auction in 2012 after twenty-six years of single ownership. Its seven years off the road had not been kind; green moss was competing with the Rosso Corsa, there was extensive corrosion, a cylinder head had cracked and the brakes had seized, among other problems. However, documentation attested that it had covered only 57,190 miles from new, and it retained its matching-numbers body, engine, gearbox, rear axle and so on. Fortunately, 7191GT fell into the right hands.

Between 2013 and 2019 it was restored for around £218,000, being painstakingly returned to its original specification, and with only fifty miles covered since, it is fully deserving of some use by an enthusiastic new owner.

The restoration was managed from start to finish by well-respected Ferrari specialists Peter Higgins Sports Cars, and once the Ferrari had been stripped back to the bare metal, it was carefully reassembled with new parts wherever necessary, which had to be fabricated if they could not be purchased. The bodywork was entrusted to XK Engineering and cost no less than £38,500, with all the corroded areas being repaired. This necessarily involved the fabrication of a new boot floor, rear floorpans, lower front and rear wing sections, lower door sections, front apron sections and more. The corroded chassis tubes were repaired and the restored chassis, plus the floorpans, engine bay and boot, were finished with a coat of 60/40 matt Ferrari Black.

GB Classic Trim took responsibility for the upholstery, which made use of Black Nappa leather and Wilton carpets, reaching a cost of £14,000. Anything which couldn’t be restored had to be remade, so Peter Higgins went to great lengths to produce new door panel cards, a parcel shelf, sun visors and so on. The beautiful Celeste paint was applied again, the Borrani wheels were refurbished by a specialist, and the chrome was replated.

Peter Higgins performed a comprehensive overhaul of the engine, line-boring the block, refacing the heads, balancing the crank, and refacing the valves. New cylinder liners and pistons were installed, along with new valve guides and springs, and new main and big-end bearings. Both distributors and all three carburettors were renovated in their turn. The gearbox and back axle were stripped, and pieced together again with new seals, gaskets and locknuts. The gearbox also received new synchro rings and some bearings. The clutch and its master and slave cylinders were renewed. The same careful attention was administered to the brakes and suspension, with new brake discs, suspension bushes, shock absorbers and so on. The fuel system was overhauled, a new exhaust was made, and the electrics were completely rewired.

Still effectively fresh from restoration, we can think of no 330 GT that we would rather own. It is one of the loveliest, and it is our sincere belief that it deserves a spot at an international concours. Documentation includes a copy of the original sales invoice and many invoices from Peter Higgins Sports Cars.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452