To review any Ferrari is a special occasion. Inevitably, however, some are more special than others, especially if it is a vintage model with the legendary ‘Colombo’ V12 engine. The car in question? A 1966 Ferrari 330GT 2+2. Part of the traditional four-seater V12 Ferrari model range, which was actually Enzo Ferrari’s personal favorite, the lineage first began in mass production with the Ferrari 250GTE in 1960. In 1965, Ferrari released the series II 330GT 2+2, being the subject car, which is largely the same as the series I 330GT 2+2 that precedes it, except it has a better looking frontend with Ferrari’s classic dual headlight layout.
Named the 330 under Ferrari’s traditional model designation method, it has 330cc capacity per cylinder, 12 of which makes it a 4 litre V12 with three downdraft carburetors. Its legendary Colombo engine is a race-car-derived engine designed by Gioacchino Columbo, who first worked at Alfa Romeo’s F1 racing team with Enzo Ferrari before moving over to Ferrari where it all began.
The peculiarities you immediately notice when sitting in the cockpit are the seatbelts and handbrake. The seatbelt has no tongue. There is a hook attached to the buckle where you simply loop the bare belt over it and then put the hook into the buckle to secure yourself into the seat. Meanwhile, the handbrake stands up straight from the driver’s footwell and is incredibly hard to release if you are not familiar with the car. Fortunately, things get a lot easier from here. Slotting the gear stick of the H-gate transmission into first gear proves to be extremely precise and solid. The clutch, while on the heavy side, is manageable and easy to modulate when setting off from standstill. There is no power steering, however, and maneuvering the car in standstill is a real workout since the steering is ultraheavy.
Readers who have experienced in person or through YouTube videos the unique and magnificent sound of Columbo engine legends like the 250GTO or 250SWB would no doubt understand my anticipation to have my mind blown when I stepped down on the throttle for the first time. Admittedly though, the first impression was a little short of expectation, for the engine note was not anywhere as shouty or aggressive as I had hoped. That was when I was reminded that this car was never intended to be like its race-bred, two-seater siblings. It was made to be a luxurious grand tourer that could comfortably take a family of four across Europe for family holidays. As such, as with the rest of the car, its engine note is refined and subtle, rather than loud and confrontational.
That is not to say the engine note is anything other than intoxicating. After all, any carbureted Ferrari V12 engine is mind blowing, and the 330GT 2+2 is certainly no exception. The impressive thing about this car is that everything works as it should, perfectly. There is no delay in throttle response, the gear change is crisp and accurate, there are no unnecessary pops and bangs, and the power delivery is superb without any hesitation whatsoever. There could be a reason for this. You see, this particular 330GT 2+2 was formerly owned by automotive star Harry Metcalfe, founder of one of the world’s most popular car magazine, Evo, and now host of his extremely popular YouTube channel, Harry’s Garage. Harry told me that shortly after he acquired the car more than a decade ago, Ferrari offered to take the car into Maranello’s Classiche Department for the team to have a look over. Ferrari then returned the car to Harry and the car has been in rude health since. Harry admitted, however, that to this day, he has no idea what Ferrari has done to the car.
I have had the fortunes of driving many different classic Ferrari’s before, including the mighty F40. However, a vintage V12 Ferrari with a Colombo engine is certainly a bucket list item that I can now proudly put a tick next to. That, and the fact that this car’s immediate previous owner was Harry Metcalfe, who was the sole inspiration to my own YouTube Channel, makes this experience extra sweet.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank the owner of the car for being so generous and patient with us on the day of shooting (TWO different in-car cameras decided to quietly die on us without our knowledge which meant we had to call the owner back after he left in order to shoot the driving shots all over again!) As always, I also thank the team for their superb work:
Alex W. (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Dave (IG: @giggles852)
Alex C.: (IG: @nofishshark)
Adhiraj Rathore: (IG: @supercarsofhongkong)
See our review video here: