Gordon Raymond of Northfield, Illinois, has owned this 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB—Serial No. 06943—for 47 years. He’s only the second person to ever own the vehicle and he purchased it back in 1970. These days, cars as rare and expensive as a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB expect to go through new hands every few years as prices rise and collectors look to make a couple bucks, but not so Gordon and his 275 GTB, and that’s because he believes the car saved his life.
A Real Lifesaver
Gordon purchased the car in 1970 from its original owner, a ski instructor. Eleven years later, in 1981, Gordon was driving the 275 GTB near his home when he was involved in a head-on collision. The injuries ended up keeping him in the hospital for 14 months, but Gordon believes he wouldn’t have survived the crash if it was not for the car’s famously robust construction. We probably wouldn’t sell a car that saved our lives either.
After The Hospital
Gordon decided he wanted to have his lifesaving car repaired and began a restoration that is ongoing to this day. He decided to have his Ferrari repaired to the “long nose” configuration employed by the original owner—the car sold to him as a “short nose.” He purchased a brand-new long-nose front end directly from Scaglietti for $19,000, and then, to make sure everything was up to Ferrari factory standards, he hired renowned restoration experts Josef Neumayer and Michael Gabler of North Shore Auto Rebuilders in Chicago to perform the repairs and conversion.
Today
Today, the car looks perfect. It’s classically finished in Rosso Corsa with a Nero leather interior and retains its original matching-numbers triple-carburetor V-12 engine and rides on chromed Borrani wire wheels shod with Michelin XWX radial tires. Gordon has performed a variety of upgrades over the years, including the addition of an upgraded master cylinder for the 4-wheel disc brakes, a full-length TUBI exhaust system, F40 Competition safety harnesses and, most recently, a new steering box.
Source: Mecum