Eric Clapton’s ultra-rare 1970s Ferrari with enormous V12 engine and 186mph top speed goes on auction for £275,000
ERIC Clapton’s historic Ferrari, which has been immortalised in rock history, has gone on sale for £285k.
The 1975 Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer has only clocked a miniscule 14,000 miles on the clock in it’s fifty years.
An integral part of rock ‘n roll history, the car is splashed across the back of Clapton’s 1977 album, Slowhand, which features the tear jerker “Wonderful Tonight.”
Reflecting the chaos of the industry, the car is pictured with one side crumpled, after the musical legend battered it in a crash shortly after he bought it.
Clapton purchased what was then the most expensive car in the world, at around $30,000, after thinking George Harrison looked snazzy when he pulled up in one at his Hurtwood Estate.
Arguably, one of the best guitarists of all time, Clapton, had fallen prey to the allure of alcohol and heroin.
In his autobiography, he claims that he crashed the Ferrari, his second, at 90mph into a van, whilst drunk.
He crashed his first Ferrari in 1970 after his first kiss with Patty Boyd, his future wife who was then married to his friend, Beatles legend George Harrison.
His clandestine love affair with Boyd inspired the timeless love song “Wonderful Tonight.”
Despite escaping the crash with only a perforated ear drum, Clapton put it up for sale, and an eagle-eyed vendor snapped it up after spotting an advert in Exchange & Mart on October 3 1975.
The vendor, who kept the car in his kitchen for fifty years until his death, restored the coveted classic and painted it a majestic red.
Only 367 of the model, which can reach top speeds of 186mph were ever built between 1973 and 1976.
Papers document Clapton’s purchase of the car which was delivered on Christmas Eve 1974.
The listing states: “Matching clamshell numbers ‘172’ are present on all four corners, and the engine and gearbox numbers also match the original order sheets from the car.”
It claims that “you could look wonderful tonight” in the Berlinetta Boxer, which will go on sale at Bonhams during their Goodwood Members Meeting Auction on April 13.
This fabled part of musical lore retains its matching chassis, engine and gearbox.
Pics show a rare right-hand drive in a two-tone black and red finish with a black leather interior and three-spoke steering wheel bearing a prancing horse logo.