(Air conditioning, not originally supplied, was retro-fitted in the 1972 -1976 period, using the 330 GT/Daytona system, but upgraded by the present owner in the late ‘90s to incorporate a contemporary rotary compressor.)

This GTB/4 was originally sold to John Annis of Tampa, Florida who had it delivered in Chinetti’s race transporter to Sebring. Annis complained about an “engine noise,” so Chinetti took the car back for rectification, replacing it with another 275 GTB/4 (chassis no. 10017).

After Chinetti’s repairs, the car was sold to the real first owner, entrepreneur, auto dealer and race car sponsor Kirk F. White who used it as his “daily driver” from 1968 to 1972. White had by 1968 established Auto Enterprises in Flourtown, Pennsylvania with two partners who also drove four-cams. In a recent interview he recalled, “At first I didn’t know that 09501 was an alloy GTB until I noticed the peculiar roof seams that these cars have. A great car and I have very fond memories of it – it was an absolute rocket ship and reliable as an anvil and I drove it everywhere and almost everyday for about four years. Those were the days.”

Two dealers, Waldron Motors and Ferrari dealer Cressman-Baumgarten of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida became the next owners prior to the later selling 09501 to Samuel Overby Hoffman of Miami in late 1972. Hoffman kept it a further five years, painting it red and displaying it at the 11th FCA Detroit area National in 1973. In 1976 Sam Hoffman “ran out of talent” on a rain-slicked entry to I-95 near Miami and backed the four-cam into a cloverleaf guardrail, denting the left rear quarter-panel in the trunk area and bending the rear wheel and suspension arm. (We mention this since a database describes the car as “badly crashed and written-off.”) In those days, a ten year old Ferrari which sold new for $12,000 was valued at four figures and was often written off instead of repaired, even if the damage was relatively modest.

The present owners, Wayne and Lorene Sparling, purchased 09501 from the insurance firm on January 6, 1977. It was relegated to the “back burner” for some two decades while Sparling worked on other Ferraris in his collection. In about 1998 he started a total two year restoration and debuted the GTB/4 at the Orlando area Concorso Portofino in 2001 where our car won a First Place Trophy. Other prizes accumulated as the Sparlings displayed their car at Amelia Island, Marco Island, Cavallino Classic XII and FCA Sebring and Washington, DC Nationals in the 2001 to 2006 period. In all instances, the car was driven to and from these events. Road rallies and substantial road trips were also undertaken – one of the longest being the Sparlings’ 2004 return journey from central Florida to RM’s 25th Anniversary Celebration in Chatham, Ontario with a stopover in New England, adding about 4,000 miles to the four-cam’s odometer! Auction Source: 2010 RM Automobiles of Amelia Island Auction