This Barn-Find Ferrari Was Once the Le Mans Pace Car

A Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 which made its debut at the 1965 Paris Motor Show and paced the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans has been discovered in a shed at a French chateau.

The Series II model updated the 330 GT’s original quad headlights for a cleaner look and added a fifth gear to the transmission. Handling was improved by fitting adjustable Koni shocks at each corner, and the braking system was also beefed up. Under the hood was a four-liter Columbo V-12, offering 300 hp, and enabling this 2+2 Grand Tourer to reach almost 150 mph.

After being showcased in Paris this Verde Scuro example attracted even more attention at the world’s greatest endurance race. Donald Sleator, the boss of Ferrari’s importer Franco Britannic, also happened to be the pace car driver for the Automobile Club de l’Ouest from 1955 to 1967. Between 1960 and 1967, he seized the opportunity to promote his business by driving a different Ferrari at each Le Mans.

1966 was perhaps the most famous of them all, where Ford finally beat Ferrari. As the checkered flag fell on the three GT40s, the 330 GT led them over the line.

Over the next decade, the car had several owners in Paris, Calvados, and Bordeaux before finding its most recent home, again in Calvados. Its keeper was blissfully unaware of the car’s provenance and used it regularly right up until the early 2000s when he passed away.

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Since then, the car was stored in an outbuilding of the family chateau and, while never driven, it was regularly started by a family member until the engine refused to fire four years ago. Clearly it will need work to get back on to the road, but the bodywork and interior look to be in fairly reasonable, if patinated, condition.

Nonetheless, the car sold at Aguttes recent auction for €200,676 or $219,692, with the new keeper willing to pay a premium for its storied past.

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