Ferrari – 365 P Berlinetta Speciale Tre Posti (1966)

The press celebrated this fascinating coupé as the star of the Paris Salon in 1966. It was an experimental car bodied by Pininfarina, which used the Ferrari 365 P2 racing car powered by a 380 hp engine as the platform. This was the first road-going, mid-engined Ferrari. Up to that point, Enzo Ferrari had been steadfast in his refusal to countenance this arrangement, but Fiat supremo Giovanni Agnelli and the American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti persuaded him to adopt a model with this configuration.

Ultimately, two examples of the elegant design penned by Pininfarina stylist Aldo Brovarone were produced. He deliberately reprised the lines of the 206 GT Speciale prototype from the previous year. The car’s extremely long, flat tail created sufficient space for the 4.4 litre V12, but the truly outstanding achievement was the unusual layout of the interior. The driver was positioned centrally under an athermal, transparent roof, flanked by a passenger seat to the right and left. This example painted in Gardenia White remained in the possession of the Chinetti family until 2004.