California Spider
Except otherwise stated, all results below include the premium.
See also : Ferrari LWB to GTO Post war cars Cars 1958-59 Cars of the 1960s Cars 1960-61 Cars in movies
Chronology : 1959
List and history of cars by barchetta.cc : LWB, SWB.
See also : Ferrari LWB to GTO Post war cars Cars 1958-59 Cars of the 1960s Cars 1960-61 Cars in movies
Chronology : 1959
List and history of cars by barchetta.cc : LWB, SWB.
Intro
Concerned about competition, Enzo Ferrari was not interested in convertibles, but he could not ignore these sports cars that will be necessary to the profitability of his business. He includes in his catalog in 1957 the Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Cabriolet which will bring a great commercial success.
In the same year, the improvement of the 250 GT chassis is primarily intended for competition berlinettas. Two dealers in the USA, Von Neumann in California and Chinetti in New York, manage to convince Ferrari to assemble a convertible on the new frame, for the wealthy American customers wishing to have a vehicle usable altogether for city and sport.
The new car designed by Pinin Farina and bodied by Scaglietti enters the catalog in 1958 as the Ferrari 250 GT California Spider. It is interesting to observe that Ferrari does not acknowledge it as a cabriolet but as a spider. Whatever. Under the pressure of the lucrative market of cinema personalities and of playboys, Ferrari has created a model for stars and womanizers.
In 1960, the chassis is shortened for both spiders and berlinettas and referred as SWB (Short Wheelbase) for improving the stability when cornering. The earlier design is renamed Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider.
50 LWB spiders and 56 SWB spiders have been made.
Ferrari did not restrain the 250 GT spider to the American market as he will do in 1967 when Chinetti will force his hand for another cabriolet, the Ferrari 275 GTB / 4 NART Spider.
In the same year, the improvement of the 250 GT chassis is primarily intended for competition berlinettas. Two dealers in the USA, Von Neumann in California and Chinetti in New York, manage to convince Ferrari to assemble a convertible on the new frame, for the wealthy American customers wishing to have a vehicle usable altogether for city and sport.
The new car designed by Pinin Farina and bodied by Scaglietti enters the catalog in 1958 as the Ferrari 250 GT California Spider. It is interesting to observe that Ferrari does not acknowledge it as a cabriolet but as a spider. Whatever. Under the pressure of the lucrative market of cinema personalities and of playboys, Ferrari has created a model for stars and womanizers.
In 1960, the chassis is shortened for both spiders and berlinettas and referred as SWB (Short Wheelbase) for improving the stability when cornering. The earlier design is renamed Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider.
50 LWB spiders and 56 SWB spiders have been made.
Ferrari did not restrain the 250 GT spider to the American market as he will do in 1967 when Chinetti will force his hand for another cabriolet, the Ferrari 275 GTB / 4 NART Spider.
LWB
1
1958
2019 SOLD for $ 10M by Gooding
Ferrari is relying on its 250 GT chassis to offer high-end commercial models. The berlinetta, which will soon be nicknamed TdF, appears in 1956 and the Cabriolet Pinin Farina in 1957. The Ferrari dealers in the United States, Von Neumann on the West Coast and Chinetti in the East, welcome these novelties with the highest interest.
Von Neumann and Chinetti conclude that the new Ferraris do not respond to the evolution of the American market. The Cabriolet Pinin Farina targets a clientele of billionaires and should not be compared with a sports car. The berlinetta interposes its hardtop between its seaters and the Californian sun. It is even more unfortunate when considering that celebrities enjoy the convertibles for better agglutinating the paparazzi around the luxury and elegance of their privileged lives.
Enzo Ferrari is not convinced. In December 1957, however, he releases a prototype that meets the demands of his US partners. Scaglietti, the coachbuilder who was assembling the TdF, had used the same chassis model to build a cabriolet, without bringing other technical innovations. Nevertheless this car intended for an American use already includes the option of covered headlamps, prohibited in Italy.
The prototype is delivered in January 1958 to an American customer via Chinetti. It was sold for $ 6.6M by Gooding on August 19, 2012.
Scaglietti begins assembling a series in June 1958 with an average rate of two cars per month, without making any other prototype. Enzo remains reluctant but is pragmatic. If Scaglietti does not make this Speciale, the customers will commission him to transform their berlinettas and Ferrari will lose the commercial control of this model.
The new 250 GT is finally announced as a separate model in December 1958, under the name Ferrari 250 Granturismo Spyder California which can be abbreviated as Ferrari 250 California. The term 'cabriolet' is carefully avoided to maintain the sales of the very expensive 250 GT Cabriolet Pinin Farina. The word Spyder, with a Y like for the Porsche Spyder, appeals new customers who desire a dual use in road and competition. This model will soon be known as Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider.
Built in November 1958, a California Spider was sold for $ 8.8M by RM on January 18, 2014 and passed at the same auction house on August 20, 2016. It was sold for $ 10M by Gooding on August 16, 2019, lot 44. It is driven by David Gooding in the video shared by the auction house.
Von Neumann and Chinetti conclude that the new Ferraris do not respond to the evolution of the American market. The Cabriolet Pinin Farina targets a clientele of billionaires and should not be compared with a sports car. The berlinetta interposes its hardtop between its seaters and the Californian sun. It is even more unfortunate when considering that celebrities enjoy the convertibles for better agglutinating the paparazzi around the luxury and elegance of their privileged lives.
Enzo Ferrari is not convinced. In December 1957, however, he releases a prototype that meets the demands of his US partners. Scaglietti, the coachbuilder who was assembling the TdF, had used the same chassis model to build a cabriolet, without bringing other technical innovations. Nevertheless this car intended for an American use already includes the option of covered headlamps, prohibited in Italy.
The prototype is delivered in January 1958 to an American customer via Chinetti. It was sold for $ 6.6M by Gooding on August 19, 2012.
Scaglietti begins assembling a series in June 1958 with an average rate of two cars per month, without making any other prototype. Enzo remains reluctant but is pragmatic. If Scaglietti does not make this Speciale, the customers will commission him to transform their berlinettas and Ferrari will lose the commercial control of this model.
The new 250 GT is finally announced as a separate model in December 1958, under the name Ferrari 250 Granturismo Spyder California which can be abbreviated as Ferrari 250 California. The term 'cabriolet' is carefully avoided to maintain the sales of the very expensive 250 GT Cabriolet Pinin Farina. The word Spyder, with a Y like for the Porsche Spyder, appeals new customers who desire a dual use in road and competition. This model will soon be known as Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider.
Built in November 1958, a California Spider was sold for $ 8.8M by RM on January 18, 2014 and passed at the same auction house on August 20, 2016. It was sold for $ 10M by Gooding on August 16, 2019, lot 44. It is driven by David Gooding in the video shared by the auction house.
2
1959 Competizione
2017 SOLD for $ 18M by RM Sotheby's
Designed on the 250 GT chassis as a cabriolet to please American customers, the California Spider (originally Spyder) was not expected by Ferrari to compete in endurance racing against the berlinetta nicknamed TdF built on the same chassis.
It was however tempting to push the California into the competition. Luigi Chinetti is acting between Ferrari and American customers. Having been at the origin of the California project, he obtains from Ferrari the delivery of aluminum alloy bodied spiders.
In 1959 the 250 GT chassis is still in its long version which will later be identified as LWB. For the 24 hours of Le Mans in that year Chinetti and his NART team enter three Ferraris : a 250 Testa Rossa, a 250 TdF and a California Spider.
Released from the factory under pressure from Chinetti five days before Le Mans with a simple flash of paint and a far from complete interior layout, this 250 GT LWB California Spider is the second of its kind in the Competizione configuration. Driven by its first owner and a co-driver, this brand new car ends the event with a very good result : 5th overall and 3rd in class. It was afterward honorably participating in various American competitions in 1959 and 1960.
This high-end car with a competition history is still more desirable since it was restored in 2011 by Motion Products Inc., the company of Wayne Obry. It was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 14M by RM Sotheby's on December 6, 2017, lot 141 estimated $ 14M.
Ferrari and NART did not push this solution much further : only three SWB Spiders will be built for competition.
It was however tempting to push the California into the competition. Luigi Chinetti is acting between Ferrari and American customers. Having been at the origin of the California project, he obtains from Ferrari the delivery of aluminum alloy bodied spiders.
In 1959 the 250 GT chassis is still in its long version which will later be identified as LWB. For the 24 hours of Le Mans in that year Chinetti and his NART team enter three Ferraris : a 250 Testa Rossa, a 250 TdF and a California Spider.
Released from the factory under pressure from Chinetti five days before Le Mans with a simple flash of paint and a far from complete interior layout, this 250 GT LWB California Spider is the second of its kind in the Competizione configuration. Driven by its first owner and a co-driver, this brand new car ends the event with a very good result : 5th overall and 3rd in class. It was afterward honorably participating in various American competitions in 1959 and 1960.
This high-end car with a competition history is still more desirable since it was restored in 2011 by Motion Products Inc., the company of Wayne Obry. It was sold for $ 18M from a lower estimate of $ 14M by RM Sotheby's on December 6, 2017, lot 141 estimated $ 14M.
Ferrari and NART did not push this solution much further : only three SWB Spiders will be built for competition.
3
1959 Competizione
2016 SOLD for $ 18M by Gooding
The Ferrari 250 GT California Spider in the wheel base later identified as LWB is a series of 50 sports cars produced to please American customers between 1957 and 1960. The SWB is its successor. The brand continually works to improve its products and remains attentive to specific needs, which can create significant disparities from one vehicle to another.
Nine 'LWB' were originally built for competition with a lightweight body in aluminum alloy. A California Spider 'LWB' Competizione built in 1959 was sold for $ 18M on August 20, 2016 by Gooding, lot 033. It is illustrated in the post shared by Forbes.
The settings of this model had been specially effective, including some engine components from the Testa Rossa to achieve a compression ratio of 9.8: 1, the highest of all the LWB, and a power of 275 hp about 50 hp over the basic model. Its features include from the origin the disc brakes, a rarity at that time, and its headlights are covered.
Sold to Chinetti for George Reed who was Ferrari's agent in Illinois and Wisconsin, it was raced with some parsimony until 1964 and remains in a matching numbers configuration for all its major elements.
This car is exceptional when considering that it is the best performing from all the LWB and that only three SWB California Spider Competizione were later assembled.
Nine 'LWB' were originally built for competition with a lightweight body in aluminum alloy. A California Spider 'LWB' Competizione built in 1959 was sold for $ 18M on August 20, 2016 by Gooding, lot 033. It is illustrated in the post shared by Forbes.
The settings of this model had been specially effective, including some engine components from the Testa Rossa to achieve a compression ratio of 9.8: 1, the highest of all the LWB, and a power of 275 hp about 50 hp over the basic model. Its features include from the origin the disc brakes, a rarity at that time, and its headlights are covered.
Sold to Chinetti for George Reed who was Ferrari's agent in Illinois and Wisconsin, it was raced with some parsimony until 1964 and remains in a matching numbers configuration for all its major elements.
This car is exceptional when considering that it is the best performing from all the LWB and that only three SWB California Spider Competizione were later assembled.
4
1959 Competizione
2021 SOLD for $ 10.8M by Gooding
The California Spider Competizione cannot be considered as a separate variety. They were not supported in racing by the brand. Being assembled by hand by Scaglietti, they accepted the specific requirements of the customers. Most of them were delivered to the USA.
An LWB spider was assembled in 1959 with many competition features for an Italian amateur racing driver, replacing a slightly damaged 1956 competition TdF berlinetta. The spider was mostly raced in local hill climbs in 1959 and 1960 and finished also 5th overall at the 1959 Monza Coppa InterEuropa.
Its state of the art components include a one-off stylish steel body, the latest version of the Colombo V-12, a heat tolerant gearbox, a cold air box, a long range 136 liter fuel tank, a quick release fuel filler, and among the factory standard options the covered headlamps and the highly rare removable hardtop.
This bespoke spider retains its original chassis, body, engine and gearbox and is accompanied by its hardtop. It has been repainted in its original Italian colors, red with white and green central stripe. It was sold for $ 10.8M by Gooding on August 13, 2021, lot 36. It is illustrated in the pre sale press release.
The TdF was sold for $ 5.7M by RM Sotheby's on August 20, 2016, lot 232.
An LWB spider was assembled in 1959 with many competition features for an Italian amateur racing driver, replacing a slightly damaged 1956 competition TdF berlinetta. The spider was mostly raced in local hill climbs in 1959 and 1960 and finished also 5th overall at the 1959 Monza Coppa InterEuropa.
Its state of the art components include a one-off stylish steel body, the latest version of the Colombo V-12, a heat tolerant gearbox, a cold air box, a long range 136 liter fuel tank, a quick release fuel filler, and among the factory standard options the covered headlamps and the highly rare removable hardtop.
This bespoke spider retains its original chassis, body, engine and gearbox and is accompanied by its hardtop. It has been repainted in its original Italian colors, red with white and green central stripe. It was sold for $ 10.8M by Gooding on August 13, 2021, lot 36. It is illustrated in the pre sale press release.
The TdF was sold for $ 5.7M by RM Sotheby's on August 20, 2016, lot 232.
5
1959
2015 SOLD for $ 8.5M by RM Sotheby's
An LWB is released in 1959 from factory to be sold to an Italian aristocrat. This spider includes some refinements that make it one of the prettiest units of the series. Maintained throughout in matching numbers, it was sold for $ 8.5M by RM Sotheby's on August 13, 2015, lot 118.
6
1960 Competizione
2012 SOLD for $ 11.3M by Gooding
In August 2010, Gooding sold for $ 7.3M a Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione of 1959.
A car of the same model was sold for $ 11.3M from a lower estimate of $ 7M by Gooding on August 18, 2012. Made in 1960, it had been used as a show car by George Reed, Ferrari's agent in Illinois and Wisconsin. It is in excellent condition but with no racing history.
A car of the same model was sold for $ 11.3M from a lower estimate of $ 7M by Gooding on August 18, 2012. Made in 1960, it had been used as a show car by George Reed, Ferrari's agent in Illinois and Wisconsin. It is in excellent condition but with no racing history.
SWB
1
1961 ex Baillon
2015 SOLD for € 16.3M by Artcurial
I once believed that the top prices rewarded the cars in perfect condition. The ex Delon-Baillon California Spider cancels such a view. Hidden in a barn since 1975 after the bankruptcy of its owner, it had been retrieved under stacks of magazines. Ferraris are vehicles of an exceptional robustness : it had valiantly withstood four decades of neglect in the wet French countryside.
More important for its position on the market : it has never been disassembled. Despite its pitiful look, it has everything to become through a careful restoration the best car in its glorious class. Its short belonging in 1963 to a movie star, widely reported by the media before and after the sale, probably had no impact on its price.
Here is its story :
The Ferrari 250 GT California Spider with chassis 2935GT was released from factory in 1961 and exhibited at the October 1961 Paris Motor Show. It was very elegant with the new short wheel base SWB chassis, now systematic for this model, and the rare option of covered headlights. The actor Gérard Blain bought it one week after the Salon closed.
Its second owner is Alain Delon, who uses it in Monaco and Los Angeles and is pictured with it with lovely passengers : Jane Fonda, Shirley MacLaine, his wife Nathalie. Delon sold it in 1965 with 37,000 km from new.
After several intermediaries, the car is acquired in 1971 by Roger Baillon and his son Jacques, contractors in truck bodywork and transport. In 1950, more than ten years before the Schlumpf brothers, Roger had started to recover and restore automotive masterpieces, with a view to create a museum.
Baillon puts the Ferrari in the barn. He probably does not use it, although he paid for its tax disc until 1975. The Baillon collection is secret, in large part because of the bankruptcy of the company. Some elements of the collection were seized and sold at auction near Niort in 1979 and 1985. The others remained hidden.
Jacques Baillon died in 2013. The heirs opened the hangar for an expertise by Artcurial on September 30, 2014, thus creating the most sensational "barn find" of modern times.
The storage had not been homogeneous. Two cars had been preserved from mist during these four decades, the Ferrari and a Maserati A6G 2000 Gran Sport berlinetta. Under its layer of dust, the Ferrari is in matching numbers, with intact bodywork except for the hood distorted under the magazines, and with its original upholstery and documentation.
Artcurial managed the auction in Paris on February 6, 2015, making a hype with the former belonging of the Ferrari to Delon. Connoisseurs are not mistaken : this car is an extremely rare untouched California Spider. Estimated at a daring 9.5M, it was sold for € 16.3M, lot 59. The Maserati fetched € 1.96M. In a near collapse condition, an exceptional Talbot Lago T26 Grand Sport by Saoutchik was sold for € 1.7M.
More important for its position on the market : it has never been disassembled. Despite its pitiful look, it has everything to become through a careful restoration the best car in its glorious class. Its short belonging in 1963 to a movie star, widely reported by the media before and after the sale, probably had no impact on its price.
Here is its story :
The Ferrari 250 GT California Spider with chassis 2935GT was released from factory in 1961 and exhibited at the October 1961 Paris Motor Show. It was very elegant with the new short wheel base SWB chassis, now systematic for this model, and the rare option of covered headlights. The actor Gérard Blain bought it one week after the Salon closed.
Its second owner is Alain Delon, who uses it in Monaco and Los Angeles and is pictured with it with lovely passengers : Jane Fonda, Shirley MacLaine, his wife Nathalie. Delon sold it in 1965 with 37,000 km from new.
After several intermediaries, the car is acquired in 1971 by Roger Baillon and his son Jacques, contractors in truck bodywork and transport. In 1950, more than ten years before the Schlumpf brothers, Roger had started to recover and restore automotive masterpieces, with a view to create a museum.
Baillon puts the Ferrari in the barn. He probably does not use it, although he paid for its tax disc until 1975. The Baillon collection is secret, in large part because of the bankruptcy of the company. Some elements of the collection were seized and sold at auction near Niort in 1979 and 1985. The others remained hidden.
Jacques Baillon died in 2013. The heirs opened the hangar for an expertise by Artcurial on September 30, 2014, thus creating the most sensational "barn find" of modern times.
The storage had not been homogeneous. Two cars had been preserved from mist during these four decades, the Ferrari and a Maserati A6G 2000 Gran Sport berlinetta. Under its layer of dust, the Ferrari is in matching numbers, with intact bodywork except for the hood distorted under the magazines, and with its original upholstery and documentation.
Artcurial managed the auction in Paris on February 6, 2015, making a hype with the former belonging of the Ferrari to Delon. Connoisseurs are not mistaken : this car is an extremely rare untouched California Spider. Estimated at a daring 9.5M, it was sold for € 16.3M, lot 59. The Maserati fetched € 1.96M. In a near collapse condition, an exceptional Talbot Lago T26 Grand Sport by Saoutchik was sold for € 1.7M.
2
1961
2016 SOLD for $ 17.2M by Gooding
On March 11, 2016, Gooding sold for $ 17.2M a California Spider, lot 069. This specific example has many qualities that make it one of the most desirable Ferrari cars.
This car built in 1961 has the two outstanding aesthetic achievements by Scaglietti : the bodywork on the shorter frame and the covered headlights. Its color is the best symbol of the brand : it is painted in red and the leathers are black.
It had only three owners from new who carefully maintained and serviced it without modification and it so remains one of the most original from that model. It had probably never left Italy.
This California Spider is the dream car in the film Ieri, Oggi, Domani released in 1963. The movie is composed of three episodes of the Italian life unconnected in location or time, whose only common point is the leading couple, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.
The central story, Oggi, was inspired from a short novel by Moravia whose title Troppo Ricca demonstrates the intention of social criticism. The woman drives with her lover the Rolls-Rolls of her husband and suddenly considers that she must make a choice between man and car. Relationships become nervous and Sophia crashes the Rolls.
The woman leaves on the road both car and lover and makes hitchhiking. They are near to Milan and the car that boards Sophia is our Ferrari, lent by its owner of that time to the film producer. Italy did not need to rely on concept cars to show on screen the ideal car : they had the 250 GT SWB California Spider.
This car built in 1961 has the two outstanding aesthetic achievements by Scaglietti : the bodywork on the shorter frame and the covered headlights. Its color is the best symbol of the brand : it is painted in red and the leathers are black.
It had only three owners from new who carefully maintained and serviced it without modification and it so remains one of the most original from that model. It had probably never left Italy.
This California Spider is the dream car in the film Ieri, Oggi, Domani released in 1963. The movie is composed of three episodes of the Italian life unconnected in location or time, whose only common point is the leading couple, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.
The central story, Oggi, was inspired from a short novel by Moravia whose title Troppo Ricca demonstrates the intention of social criticism. The woman drives with her lover the Rolls-Rolls of her husband and suddenly considers that she must make a choice between man and car. Relationships become nervous and Sophia crashes the Rolls.
The woman leaves on the road both car and lover and makes hitchhiking. They are near to Milan and the car that boards Sophia is our Ferrari, lent by its owner of that time to the film producer. Italy did not need to rely on concept cars to show on screen the ideal car : they had the 250 GT SWB California Spider.
3
1961
2015 SOLD for $ 16.8M by Gooding
An SWB California Spider from 1961 was sold for $ 16.8M by Gooding on August 16, 2015, lot 129.
This car has desirable original characteristics : SWB chassis, covered headlights. It remained untouched until an engine overhaul in 2014. It has all the assets to be submitted to a full restoration according to the best current practice and to start a new career at the highest level in the Concours d'Elegance.
This car has desirable original characteristics : SWB chassis, covered headlights. It remained untouched until an engine overhaul in 2014. It has all the assets to be submitted to a full restoration according to the best current practice and to start a new career at the highest level in the Concours d'Elegance.
4
1961
2014 SOLD for $ 15.2M by Gooding
On May 18, 2008; RM Auctions in association with Sotheby's sold for € 7M the 1961 SWB that had belonged to the actor James Coburn from 1964 until his death in 2002.
Another 1961 SWB was sold for $ 15.2M by Gooding on August 16, 2014, lot 18.
This car was exhibited at the Salon de l'Automobile at the Grand Palais in October 1961. It briefly belonged to actress Barbara Hershey. Owned by a suite of careful collectors since 1974, it has been from 1993 one of the most regular stars of the Concours d'Elegance.
This spider has a rare option, the removable hardtop, which allows if needed to use it as a coupe.
Another 1961 SWB was sold for $ 15.2M by Gooding on August 16, 2014, lot 18.
This car was exhibited at the Salon de l'Automobile at the Grand Palais in October 1961. It briefly belonged to actress Barbara Hershey. Owned by a suite of careful collectors since 1974, it has been from 1993 one of the most regular stars of the Concours d'Elegance.
This spider has a rare option, the removable hardtop, which allows if needed to use it as a coupe.
