HomeMedia1963 Ferrari 330 LMB to Rick Cole’s Monterey auction, not up for...

1963 Ferrari 330 LMB to Rick Cole’s Monterey auction, not up for bidding but offered as a private sale

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1963 Ferrari 330 LMB has racing, movie credentials | Rick Cole Auctions photos
1963 Ferrari 330 LMB has racing, movie credentials | Rick Cole Auctions photos

Rick Cole Auctions stages its revived Monterey sales under a very different format, and now it’s adding another option for those seeking high-end collectible cars: A private sale (aka private treaty) next month at the Marriott in downtown Monterey of a 1963 Ferrari 330 LMB.

The car bears serial number 4381SA and according to the Cole company is the very car displayed at the Ferrari event in March 1963 to celebrate the launch of the company’s newest 4.0-liter protoytpe racing Berlinetta.

The Hagerty Price Guide website says a ’63 LMB have an average value in excess of $30 million.

“It is one of just four examples of the 330 LMB produced,” the auction company said in its news release, “and in today’s crowded classic Ferrari market, 4381 SA is a truly historic and electrifying find for collectors of the rarest classic V12 Ferrari racing cars.”

The car as it was, with Enzo Ferrari at the right
The car as it was, with Enzo Ferrari at the right

The news release goes on to explain that the engine was designed for the experimental prototype class cars that FIA sanctioned for international racing competition for the 1963 season. Ferrari’s engine was a 400 horsepower, single overhead-cam V12 with dry sump lubrication and empowered the 300 LMB to be the first car to reach 300 km/h (186 mph) on Le Mans’ famed Mulsanne straight.

In addition to the Ferrari press conference, 4381SA made an appearance in a Federico Fellini’s Toby Dammit, his segment in the Spirits of the Dead, a three-film collection in 1968 that also featured the work of directors Roger Vadim and Louis Malle.

While the car was repainted in a shade of gold for the movie, it still has its orginal body, chassis, differential, engine and gearbox, all Ferrari Classiche Red Book certified in 2010.

“The 330 LMB is arguably superior and technically more advanced than the 250 GTO and also far rarer,” the Cole news release said. “4381 SA was raced at Sebring and Le Mans in 1963 and driven during that period by legends such as Michael Parkes, Lorenzo Bandini, Jean Guichet and Pierre Noblet.

“4381 SA was also prolific and successful in vintage racing, driven by (among others) Le Mans champions Derek Bell and Tom Kristensen.”

Cole was the first to stage a collector car sale in conjunction with the Pebble Beach/Monterey vintage racing activities. He returned in 2014 with a new format: Instead of the traditional “live auction” setup with a room full of bidders, cars are displayed at the Marriott with all bidding done over a period of several days by smartphone.

The 4381 SA Ferrari will not be part of that process, but will be offered as a private sale brokered by Rick Cole Auctions.

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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