This One-Of-Two Ferrari 250 California Could Hit $20M At Auction

Forbes

2 days ago

Built in 1961, the Ferrari is one of just two California Spiders in this specification.
The Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider is already one of the rarest, most beautiful and most exclusive classic cars of all time – and now one of just two competition-specification examples is up for sale.
To be offered by Gooding Christie's at the Pebble Beach auction across 15 and 16 August, and with an estimate in excess of $20,000,000, the Ferrari is one of the most significant classic cars of all time, and for interested buyers may well represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The car comes with a rare removable roof made from aluminum.
Built in 1961, chassis number 2383 GT is one of only two such California Spiders to leave Ferrari's Maranello, Italy factory as alloy-bodied, full competition-specification examples. The car boasts a V12 engine with higher compression ratio and more power than regular SWB Spiders, with its estimated 280 horsepower output being 40 more than standard. The race-ready engine was derived from that of the 250 Testa Rossa, and identical to those powering the closely related 250 GT SWB coupes of the same era.
This example also benefits from a competition-spec Abarth exhaust, covered headlamps, ribbed gearbox, limited-slip differential, oversized fuel tank, quick-release external fuel filler and the rare addition of a removable aluminum hardtop roof. The car retains its original 2,953 CC Tipo 168 'Colombo' engine, four-speed manual transmission, chassis, body and differential, as stated by the enclosed 'Red Book' marking its Ferrari Classiche certification.
The first owner competed in hill climbs and circuit races with the car, racking up several wins.
According to its Ferrari Classiche file, the car began life with bodywork painted a silver-gray colour called Grigio Argento, paired with a blue leather interior. Sold to Ernst Lautenschlager in Stuttgart, Germany, the car was raced extensively in German and Austrian hill climbs and circuit races, Gooding Christie's says. The California's racing record shows two hill climb victories in 1961, followed by a third the following year, two second-place finishes and a fourth. The car was sold in 1962 with about 3,700 miles on the clock.
As is common for many classic Ferraris, the California was soon repainted red by its new owner, also in Germany, and was taken on Alpine camping holidays. The car moved to Switzerland a few years later, before heading to a new owner in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1968. In the mid-1980s it entered the collection of television producer and noted Ferrari collector Greg Garrison.
One of just 56 SWB California Spiders produced, the car has an estimate of $20,000,000.
Finally, the California was acquired by its current owner in 1999, after which it underwent a complete restoration and was repainted Grigio Fumo (smoke gray). For the next 25 years, the auction house says, the car 'remained a centerpiece in one of the world's most admired Ferrari collections,' and made appearances at almost every top-tier historic motoring event, including Le Mans Classic and the Goodwood Festival of Speed.