This famed one-off 1966 Ferrari 330 GT Navarro Special is up for bid in California next month.
Ferrari fans, mark your calendars. E3 Spark Plugs has learned of an amazing opportunity at next month’s Gooding & Co’s Pebble Beach Auctions. With the right bid, you can drive home in the famed one-off 1966 Ferrari 330 GTO Navarro Special built by late Italian race car driver and builder Piero Drogo.
Also known as the Navarro Special N.A.R.T, this gold-toned ride was commissioned by and named for Italian nightclub owner Norbert Navarro. Apparently wanting a something a bit more brazen than his stock 330 GT, Navarro sketched the forward-looking design and enlisted Drogo’s shop, Carrozzeria Sports Cars, to bring his illustration to life. At the time, the shop that eventually would gain fame with the iconic Breadvan race cars, was just one of a multitude of racing and auto body shops that offered custom rides for high-dollar clients and gladly took on the task, custom fabricating Navarro’s ride from metal based on an unmodified 330 GT chassis and drivetrain.
Among the car’s notable features are a set of tailfins extending from its C-pillar; disproportionately short doors compared to the body; generous front and rear overhangs; tail lights from an entirely different Ferrari model; and use of all six original pieces of side glass. With its original gold metallic paint job, the Navarro Special’s luxe looks made it a definite head-turner. Whether you loved it or hated it, it invariably caught attention.
Navarro himself reportedly owned the car for just a short while before famed American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti offered a deal he couldn’t refuse and the car hitched a ride to the US. It since changed hands a few times and once was painted red. Now sporting its original gold metallic sheen, it’s expected to fetch upwards of $400,000 to $600,000 at the auction, slated for August 16 and 17 at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center at Del Monte Forest, CA. Other classic cars up for bid are a 1964 Aston Martin DBS expected to sell for some $1.5 million; a 1965 Shelby 289 Cobra; a 1927 Bugatti Type 37A Grand Prix; a 1958 Porsche 356 A Speedster; a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS; and a 1916 Pierce-Arrow Model 38 4-passenger Touring.
Will you place a bid for the Navarro Special or another of the amazing vintage rides at Pebble Beach? Post your thoughts and pics on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.
