AutoCult Ferrari 365 P Berlinetta Speciale Tre Posti (1966) (Italy)

About the Original

Based on the previous year‘s 365 P racing car, the 365 P Berlinetta Speciale went down in automotive history as the first street-legal Ferrari with a V12 mid-engine – it was also often known as the Tre-Posti because of its unusual arrangement of three front seats next to each other with the driver in the middle.

This peculiarity characterized the two vehicles built by Pininfarina design studio with an aluminum body – one in white paint, the other in metallic grey with a black side line and chrome spoiler at the rear. Both were fitted with the 4.4 liter engine with and output of 283 hp.

The driving force behind the two sports cars was Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli. He was also the one who, after the first test drives, had the stainless steel spoiler fitted, to achieve a much better straight-line stability by putting up with 20 km/h less top speed.

From 1966 the Tre-Posti was presented to the public at the motor shows in Brussels, Geneva, and Turin, but even though fans were fascinated by the Ferrari, company boss Enzo Ferrari saw no sales potential for a mid-engine V12 sports car with road approval.

After two years with a driving distance of almost 9,600 km and two more years downtime in a warehouse, the silver Agnelli vehicle was sold to the USA, where it only reappeared at an auction in 1998. For three years, the silver car shone in red paint before it was restored to its original condition during a necessary restoration.