SCM Analysis
Detailing
This well-kept Ferrari sold for $79,820, commission included, at the Brooks Auction, Gstaad, Switzerland, on 18 December 1999. If you are interested in a Ferrari for regular road use, the 330 GTC ranks as one of the most highly recommended of the front-engined V12 machines.
The 330 GTC was the first short-wheelbase coupe to get the larger 4.0-liter V12. It introduced a new body type, different from the 2+2 coupes (330 GT 2+2s), open Spiders (275 GTSs) and fastback coupes (275 GTBs) of the period. Although it was unusual for Ferrari to split the two-seat coupe market between the GTC and the GTB, the GTC was meant to be a comfortable road car rather than a thinly disguised racing machine. The GTC had more room inside and better visibility from its airy greenhouse than the fastback GTB. The GTC often came with factory air conditioning, power windows, a heated rear window and other luxury options not typically found on the GTB.
The GTC was fitted with a rear-mounted five-speed transaxle connected to the engine via a rigid torque tube. Standard equipment included the early design ten-hole, light-alloy cast wheels which give the car a proper period look. While wire wheels were an option, they tended to make the car look older than its years. The cast wheels were 7\” wide, a dramatically large size in the days when the Porsche 911S was shod with 4.5\” wide wheels.
Production was large by Ferrari standards, with 598 330 GTCs delivered. As these cars drive exceptionally well, it must be the rather conservative styling that has held the price down in comparison to either the 275 GTB or the 275 GTS, with the GTC trading at about 1/3 the value of the 275 GTB. For most of the ’90s, about $60,000 bought a very nice 330 GTC. But the vintage Ferrari market has started to move, and the GTC has moved along with it. Asking prices of $100,000 are not uncommon for superb machines, and dealers report that it is easier to sell good GTCs than it is to find them for inventory. Poor cars, or those with needs, are still a difficult sell and languish in the $40,000-60,000 range.
Because of its excellent condition and good ownership records, the car pictured here should be considered well bought at $79,820. Even in the $100,000 range, given its superb road manners, values of GTCs still look good, especially when compared with the 275s of the same era. The GTC appeals to those with sophisticated taste and the desire to regularly use their Ferrari on the road.