Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Shooting Brake by Vignale

Ferrari builds sports cars for the road and for the racetrack as well as monoposti for Formula 1, that’s it. This statement is true to 99.9 percent, but does not include all the vehicles ever built by the brand. Pininfarina designed the sedan Pinin with a V12 flat engine from the 512 BB and later sedans and estate versions of the 456 GT for the Sultan of Brunei. And also the coachbuilder Vignale, which does not exist anymore since 1974, dealt with an unusual design. On behalf of a customer, a unique Shooting Brake was created on the basis of a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series II.

The Carrozzeria Vignale existed between 1946 and 1974 and was founded by Alfredo Vignale. In his design studio in Turin, many coachbuilt cars and bodywork designs for renowned carmakers such as Cisitalia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, De Tomaso, BMW and of course Ferrari were created. It should be noted that the sketches often were drawn by a close friend of Vignale, who also appeared as a coachbuilder himself: Giovanni Michelotti. In addition to production vehicles, the company also designed unique concept cars for motor shows and one-offs for special customers. Towards the end of the 1960s, the self-supporting construction of car bodies, which had meanwhile been introduced worldwide, as well as internal design offices at many car manufacturers ensured that various freelance designers slipped into a crisis. For this reason, Alfredo Vignale sold his company to competitor Ghia in 1969 and died only days later in a car accident. Ghia as well as De Tomaso belonged to the Argentinian Alejandro de Tomaso, who resold both coachbuilders as a package to Ford in 1970, where first Vignale (in 1974) and then Ghia (in 1977) dissolved as independent design bureaus. While Ghia survived until the 80s as an internal design department based in Italy and was used to build concept cars for big motor shows, Vignale disappeared from public appearance for decades and has only been reused as a designation for high-quality equipped vehicles from Ford for about a year.

But back to Ferrari. In 1965, a red-painted 330 GT 2+2 with chassis number 07963 left the factory in Maranello with destination USA. There it was delivered to its first owner, a Mr Desy, by the well-known dealer Luigi Chinetti Motors in Greenwich/Connecticut. Two years later the Ferrari returned to the dealership as a slightly used car. Why Luigi Chinetti Jr decided at this point to commission a special, unique body for the car, is not known unfortunately. Possibly he saw worse chances of reselling it, as it already for unknown reasons was equipped with a replacement engine according to papers. What is clear, is that he teamed up with American designer Bob Peak, to put his ideas of a two-door Shooting Brake on paper. Already during this concept phase he contacted Alfredo Vignale in Italy and agreed the actual implementation of his plans to a driveable car. The higher roofline in conjunction with the steep rear end results in more headroom for the passengers as well as a significantly more generous luggage compartment.

When this special 330 GT 2+2 Shooting Brake was completed, Vignale proudly presented it on their own stand at the 50th Turin Motor Show. Afterwards it was shipped to Luigi Chinetti Jr, who used it until 1974 and then sold it to somebody near Philadelphia. In 1977 the car went to New York and in 1990 to Paris/France. Here a Mr Jean-Claude Paturau restored the car, that is probably the last Ferrari rebodied by Vignale, extensively and showed it at different Concours events until 2011. Only when Jay Kay, front man of famous band Jamiroquai asked him to sell the vehicle to him, a sale came about. Jay Kay owned the Shooting Brake until 2015 and also showed it at different classic car events. Since then it is part of the collection of Danny Baker in Ohio, who repainted it from green to bronze metallic in 2017. Now, RM Sotheby’s is offering the unique car as part of ‘The Petersen Automotive Museum Auction 2018’ in Los Angeles on December 8th. As the Ferrari will be auctioned without reserve, it will in any case become the new car of the highest bidder.

Images: RM Sotheby’s, Erik Fuller