Our feature last month entitled "the world's most expensive station wagon" featured a Bentley Arnage station wagon upon which $900,000 had been spent and we didn't think there could be a more lavish attempt on making a prestige car more utilitarian. We were wrong. This 1965 Ferrari 330 GT was transformed from a standard 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 to something quite unique by no less than Alfredo Vignale, and unlike the above mentioned 2003 Bentley Arnage which failed to reach its $90,000 reserve in Monaco, this absolutely unique Ferrari is likely to sell for 10 times that amount.
The Ferrari 330 GT "shooting brake" came into being back in 1967 when the son of the American Ferrari importer, Luigi Chinetti Jr, decided to create a special body for a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2. Collaborating with the "father of the Hollywood movie poster" Bob Peak, the pair came up with what they wanted, then commissioned the famous Italian automotive coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale, to sculpt the metal.
The Pininfarina-styled car below is what they started with (albeit a red one at the time), and the car above was what they finished with (albeit in green at the time). Apparently, the only parts the bodies have in common are the windscreen and a section of each door (as improbable as that may sound).
The Vignale Shooting Brake has gained quite a bit of press coverage in recent years as the personal car of Jamiroquai front man Jay Kay, particularly when it was used as a promotional vehicle for the hyper exclusive Salon Privé in London in 2012.
That's the car in it's previous green livery above, along with Jay Kay and Salon Privé's Andrew and David Bagley. The Ferrari was exhibited at Salon Prive alongside a collection of shooting brakes that included an Aston Martin DB5,Bentley Flying Star, Cadillac and a Maserati Bellagio.
Source: Gooding & Company