Even among the many classic Ferraris that change hands for millions, the 250 GT California Spider is a cut above the rest—or, as Matthew Broderick’s scheming high schooler famously said in 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “It is so choice.”
Building on the racing success of the long-wheelbase version at 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, Maranello introduced the 250 GT SWB California Spider in 1960 with the company’s new 2,400-millimeter short wheelbase, offering improved handling and styling. Other upgrades included a wider track, Koni telescopic shock absorbers, four-wheel disc brakes, and the latest evolution of the “short-block” V12 engine. Limited to a production run of 56 examples, the SWB California Spider is “justifiably regarded as one of the most beautiful and pedigreed Ferraris ever built, combining timeless design with race-winning performance,” says auction house RM Sotheby’s.
Speaking on the significance of the entire 250 series of 3.0-liter Colombo V12-powered sports cars and grand tourers built from 1952 to 1964—which also includes the LM, Testa Rossa, and the superlatively expensive 250 GTO—Ferrari Classiche head Andrea Modena previously told Maxim, “The Ferrari cars that bear the number ‘250’ in their name represent the perfect combination of elegance, versatility and performance. Ferrari’s philosophy is fully embodied by these cars, which are capable of the highest level of sporting performance but, at the same time, globally renowned as icons of luxury and exclusivity. All these elements contributed to some of these cars reaching the highest market values among classic Ferraris. This series is, for all these reasons, one of the factors that truly helped build the legend of the Maranello marque in its early days.”
Currently, classic car insurer Hagerty values the 1961 250 GT California Spider from $11 million in “Fair” condition to $17.6 million in Concours condition. But this example will likely best that range when it sells for somewhere between $17 and $19.2 million at RM Sotheby’s upcoming Monaco auction this April for a few reasons.
The 26th example built, chassis No. 2955 was originally finished in white “Bianco Saratoga” and configured with covered headlamps, orange signal lamps in a low position on the front wings, and no bumper brackets. Upon completing assembly in September 1961, the 250 GT was delivered to Auto Becker, the famed German importer based in Düsseldorf. The car was then promptly presented on its stand at the 1961 Annual IAA Frankfurt Motor Show—one of the “Big 5” automotive fairs—cementing its identity as one of Ferrari’s important period show cars.
Shortly thereafter, it was acquired by a Lebanese collector who kept the car in Rome for two years before exporting it to the U.S. for sale in the American market, where it remained for decades. Several enthusiasts owned chassis no. 2955 for short stints, one of whom took a prize for Best Convertible at the FCA national Concours in Indianapolis. Most notably during this time, actor Kenneth Mars (What’s Up, Doc?, Young Frankenstein) took ownership of the Spider for three decades before it was imported back into Europe for a German collector, who commissioned a restoration and received Red Book certification by Ferrari Classiche confirming the presence of the matching-numbers engine, gearbox, rear axle, and coachwork.
Its final owner acquired the car from the German collector in 2019 and commissioned a second restoration, during which it was treated to a refinish in the current elegant colorway—Blu Scuro paint over a rosso leather interior— and a silver hardtop. The combination of the silver hardtop, low post-restoration odometer reading (2,447 kilometers), Ferrari Classiche certification, and its historic showing at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show qualify chassis No. 2955 as one of the most covetable examples of the sought-after Ferrari 250 California. Expect it to make model history when it crosses RM Sotheby’s block on April 25.
