Ferrari 275GTB/4 - One Of Only Ten In The World (Part 3)

Once warm, the brakes are superb, as is the gearbox with the initial baulking but a memory. As with all open-gate Ferraris, because of the length of the throws and the precision of engagement, you can’t be too gung-ho with the ’box to start with, but once your mind is programmed to make those deliberate moves it is wonderfully slick. And with every change comes not a violent kick of power but a smooth surge, like a surfer catching a Big Wednesday wave.

It is no surprise that the 275GTB/4 is quick, or that it handles well

Such is the civility of the GTB/4 that it would be easy to imply that it is soft, but that is not the case. Even when it is being driven at the limit, its appointment and balance allow the driver to focus solely on what their hands and feet are doing, adding to the thrill.

Hit the tightest horseshoe corner at a decent lick and it can become hard work to keep that long nose tucked in but, as the car starts to wash away across the track, you can bring it back into line using the responsive foot-long – but barely more than an inch wide – organ throttle.

Once mastered, the same technique works everywhere: feeling the Michelin XWXs rolling on the rims before snapping upright and moving laterally yet gracefully. Just be careful not to hit a bump mid-corner or it really will spit you out.

There are endless intricate details: the reversing light tucked under the bumper, the protruding rear lights above the quad pipes...

It is no surprise that the 275GTB/4 is quick, or that it handles well, but as an out-and-out performance car, something you could stick roundels on and compete in just as it is, the Ferrari far exceeds expectations. And yet with its smooth ride, sharp, low-geared steering and flat, neutral handling at sane road speeds it similarly surpasses your hopes in how usable it might be off the track and in the real world.

In the C&SC office, there is a running joke about the overuse of the word ‘simpatico’. On this occasion, however, it perfectly describes a remarkable car. It doesn’t have a split personality because its character doesn’t really change: it is simply capable of doing the same things equally well when pottering or at enormous speeds.

All too soon there is an angry Italian man gesturing at you, fed up that his despotic flashing signs have been ignored for a few too many laps. Acknowledge his wave, ease down a gear, and breathe. Rolling into the car park beside the track, you pause for a moment, lost in your own sense of awe. Fiorano to yourself would be thrill enough. A 275GTB/4 anywhere would be a rare privilege in itself. But to combine it all and add that sprinkle of Hollywood stardust provides an experience that will last a lifetime.

The 275 is a proper GT, the shallow boot big enough for a couple of cases

Whatever your thoughts about the McQueen ‘industry’ – and many (including me to a degree) have become jaded and sceptical as it has ballooned to such an extent that there was talk of half a million bucks for his tattered old Bullitt geography teacher’s jacket – you have to appreciate what it can achieve. Without that fever, this story would have been a work of fiction. Indeed, even though I know it happened, and have the photographic evidence, somehow it still seems like an experience so extraordinary that it could not exist beyond my imagination.