Ferrari Extravaganza – The Classic Car Trust

Photo credit: RM Sotheby’s, Wheelsage

The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 is an excellent example of Pininfarina’s extraordinary design prowess. So why turn it into a unique car that certainly deserves the name extravaganza? An extravaganza developed around the idea of creating a “shooting brake”?

It’s hard to imagine that this car is a Ferrari when you see it on the street. Instead, it is a 330 GT 2+2 transformed into a “shooting brake” by Carrozzeria Vignale

The term “shooting brake” came way before the arrival of cars of course and was first used in Great Britain to identify hunting carriages used to transport the hunters in the front, while the special large rear compartment was used to transport all the necessary equipment – including rifles – to the hunting ground. The idea came from Luigi “Coco” Chinetti Junior – the son of the famous Ferrari driver and the first importer of Ferrari automobiles into North America, Luigi Chinetti.

The plaque applied to the walnut dash, following the typical tradition of British cars, recalls the year when the car was transformed into a “shooting brake” by Vignale

The year was 1967 and Chinetti, together with the American advertising illustrator Robert “Bob” Peak, brought the project to life: they bought a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 in Europe, chassis #7963 and Peak invented the car that was to be coached by Vignale in Turin. A large glassed rear deck, with vertical opening, which completely transformed the line of the vehicle. The side vents and the very elaborate front completes the project.

The transformation provides a large rear space suitable for all sorts of equipment intended for hunting

The result? Could it be done without an extravaganza? Impossible! What is certain and that the car has changed hands and colour many times, before being returned to its original state. One of its previous owners was “Jay Kay” Jason Cheetham, the frontman of Jamiroquai. The 330 GT 2+2 Shooting Brake is the last Ferrari bodied by Vignale. The last time this car was sold dates back to 2018 when it went for €274,983.