If there is one character par excellence that is associated with the actor Sylvester Stallone (now Donald Trump’s new representative to the Hollywood industry) it is Rambo (although many others will choose Rocky). And if there is one car that is associated with Rambo, it is the Lamborghini LM002, a kind of ultra-luxury Hummer with the Countach’s V12 engine that the actor had and that fitted very well with the image he gave on screen.
However, Stallone has also had a special fondness for Ferrari and there are many models of this brand with which he has been seen, such as a 599 GTB Fiorano with which he was strolling years ago in Ibiza. Among them, now has appeared what may have been the first supercar of the actor, a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 that the actor bought second-hand in 1984.
Only 500 units
The 365 GTC/4 was unveiled at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show and only 500 units were produced, almost all of them destined for the North American market. Among its virtues as a replacement for the 365 GT 2+2 was its 4.4-liter V12 engine with 340 hp (mated to a five-speed manual transmission) and the fact that despite its sporty silhouette it had rear seats, although they were folding and only for children or short people.
The unit with chassis 15,471, which was owned by Stallone, left Maranello in a beautiful Oro Kelso color with beige leather interior and equipment that included air conditioning, electric windows and instrumentation in miles. Its destination was the distributor Modern Classic Motors, in Reno (Nevada, United States), where it was taken by its first owner.
Stallone’s agent
But in the late 1970s, its owner sold it to Michael Ovitz. If you’re not a movie buff, the name might not mean much to you, but for more than 20 years he was considered the most powerful man in show business thanks to his agency Creative Artists Agency, which represented talents such as Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise… and Sylvester Stallone.
How many times would Stallone see his agent’s gold Ferrari? No doubt many. But not so much in gold, because in August 1978, probably shortly after buying it, Ovitz decided to paint it black, have it reupholstered in black leather and ask to have its beautiful five-spoke alloy wheels changed for chrome Borrani wire wheels.
He bought it in 1984
With Rocky and Rambo as characters that had given him worldwide fame, it was in 1984, when the filming of Rambo II was being completed, that Stallone reached an agreement with Ovitz and bought the 365 GTC/4. It was not apparently a ‘hot-headed’ decision that makes a star buy a car they have fallen in love with and then hardly use it, to get rid of it soon after.
In fact, he drove it in a very habitual way around California and kept it properly at Hollywood Sports Cars, a center where other celebrities also took their cars to keep them in good condition.
Until the late 1980s
But everything comes to an end and in the late 1980s the actor sold the car, which passed from hand to hand among several Ferrari enthusiasts (apparently knowing that the car had belonged to Stallone) until in 1992 it was bought by the father of its current owner.
The good news for moviegoers with a penchant for cars and a good bank account is that the car is going up for auction on Friday, January 24. And don’t imagine that it will be sold for a million-dollar figure; not two million, not one, not half, because the experts at RM Sotheby’s estimate that its next owner will keep it by paying between 121,000 and 145,000 euros. It’s still a lot of money, but it’s much less than we imagined and will undoubtedly be an investment, because it will only increase in value.