Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder (Scaglietti 1959)
s/n 1489GT
240 bhp, 2,953 cc, overhead-camshaft alloy block and head V12 engine, with four-speed gearbox, independent front suspension via A-arms, coil springs and telescopic shocks, and rear suspension via live axle, semi-elliptic springs and hydraulic shocks, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 102.4"
- One of only 50 built
- Delivered new to Prince Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia
- Matching numbers
- Multiple awards, including Platinum Award and Pebble Beach class win
The 250 GT Pinin Farina Spyder
Towards the end of 1957, when the Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Cabriolet went into production, a prototype for another open-top car appeared, aimed squarely at the U.S. market. It was called the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder and was thought by many aficionados to be one of the most beautiful cars ever to come out of Maranello – a view still held by many to this day.
The California Spyder’s development was spurred on by the recognition that Stateside buyers wanted a fast, sparsely equipped convertible Ferrari sports car, the convertible counterpart of the Tour de France berlinettas. Whether it was Luigi Chinetti or John von Neumann who first pointed this out to Ferrari is immaterial. What is important, however, is that Ferrari responded with the California Spyder.
These open cars were quite different in concept and execution to their PF Cabriolet counterparts. The Pinin Farina Cabriolet was based on the Pininfarina Coupe, a luxurious gran turismo. The California Spyder was a much sportier car, based on the dual-purpose berlinettas also designed by Pinin Farina, though built in small numbers in Modena by Carrozzeria Scaglietti, which was partly owned by Ferrari. The procedure was described by Ferrari in their official history and catalogue as a simple one: “Pinin Farina prepared the prototype, which was then sent to Maranello to be inspected by Enzo Ferrari. Although the final decision was naturally his, the dealers also had an important say in the matter and were often called in to give their opinions.” Scaglietti would then take over: “His job was to produce the set number of ‘reproductions’ of the model and to equip himself for the task on the basis of the systems in use at Maranello, which was far more ‘artisan’ in approach than those used by Pinin Farina.”
California Spyder production began in 1958, and some 11 examples had been built by the time it was announced as a separate model in December 1958. All told, 14 California Spyders were built during 1958, with the remaining 36 cars built between 1959 and 1960, including at least three fitted with alloy bodies; they were constructed to full competition specifications.
Certainly in the case of the 250 GT California Spyder, Ferrari’s two US distributors did have serious input in the design of the new car. Luigi Chinetti, who set up the first, and for a while the only, Ferrari dealership in the US, later had all the territory east of the Mississippi River, which amounted to about half the country. Luigi Chinetti was also the founder of NART – the North American Racing Team, the racing arm of Chinetti’s distributorship. The other influential distributor was the Austrian-born John von Neumann, whose racing and dealership interests were based out of California.
Both Chinetti and von Neumann recognized a gap in the market for a higher performance open-top car in America that was not filled by the luxurious 250 GT Cabriolet. It seemed obvious to base this car on the 250 GT Berlinetta (Tour de France), which lacked a convertible version.
The Tour de France was originally known as the 250 GT Berlinetta. The Tour de France nickname was added after the car’s domination of the legendary and grueling ten-day French event, in which the car’s performance, reliability and durability made it a success.
In the end, 14 California Spyders were built during 1958, with the remaining 36 cars built between 1959 and 1960, including at least seven fitted with alloy bodies, constructed to full competition specification. When the 250 GT SWB (short wheelbase) Berlinetta was launched, it was followed shortly thereafter by the corresponding SWB California Spyder, which was introduced at Geneva in March 1960. By the time production came to a close, a total of just 106 California Spyders had been built, 50 of them on the LWB chassis.
One California Spyder was entered by NART at Sebring early in 1959 and driven by Richie Ginther and Howard Hively. It finished ninth overall (behind four Testarossas and four Porsche RSKs) and won the GT class. Le Mans in 1959 conclusively demonstrated the performance of the California Spyder as the NART-entered, alloy-bodied car driven by Bob Grossman and Fernand Tavano finished fifth overall.
Chassis no. 1489 GT
The original left-hand drive LWB California Spyder offered here, s/n 1489 GT, was completed by the factory on September 19th, 1959 as the 32nd of 50 examples that would ultimately be built and was delivered new to its first owner Prince Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia of Italy, resident in Geneva, Switzerland. Born in 1937, Vittorio Emanuele has led quite a colorful life and is the only son of the last King of Italy, Umberto II. He has lived most of his life outside Italy, primarily in Switzerland, following the referendum of 1946, whereby the Italian people voted in favor of a republic. He has worked in a variety of professions, from banker to aircraft salesman and was famously married to Swiss heiress and water skier Marina Ricolfi-Doria.
By 1962, 1489 GT was offered for sale by German racing driver and car dealer Wolfgang Seidel in Dusseldorf. The car was owned by Dr. Hans Hardt of Waldernbach, Germany in the mid-1960s before it was exported to the United States in 1968.
Mrs. Ellis Little of Greenfield, New Hampshire owned the car in 1970, and it has remained stateside ever since. It is known to have been in Philadelphia in 1980 at Mark Smith’s Old Philadelphia Motorcar Corp. before being restored two years later at Bob Smith Coachworks in Gainesville, Texas. At that time, it was converted to covered headlight specification and repainted black with a red stripe and red leather interior.
In 1992 Smith showed the car during the 27th Annual Ferrari Club of America National Meeting in the Washington, DC area, where it placed First in Class Three. Collector Anthony W. Wang then showed the car at the exclusive Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance later in the year, where it again placed first in its class (Class M – Ferrari Custom Coachwork through 1964). The car continued to participate in a number of events, including the Blackhawk Collection invitational at Danville, California and the third annual Colorado Grand in 1991.
Anthony Wang sold the car to RM Classic Cars Inc. in May 1998. While in RM’s possession, the car attended the 1998 FCA National Meet in Toronto, Ontario, where it was involved in both the track day and the concours, at which it won a gold award.
In September of 1998, Richard Sirota, another noted collector from New York, acquired the car and brought it to the Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach the following year, where it won the coveted Platinum Award. In fact, Sirota also participated in the Colorado Grand in 1999. One year later it was sold to a very prominent collection in Japan and later shown in 2004 at The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering in Carmel Valley. Noted enthusiast Enrique Landa purchased the car in 2006, brought it back to The Quail the same year and, once again, participated in the Colorado Grand.
The current owner has enjoyed the car since the summer of 2008. It has fulfilled its objective in providing sunny afternoon drives, trips to concours and shows and is certain to fulfill those same for its new owner. Few cars are as perpetually desirable, timelessly gorgeous and rarely available as a Ferrari California Spyder. This is one of the finest examples we’ve ever offered.
[Text from RM Auctions]
www.rmauctions.com/mo10/sports--classics-of-monterey/lots...
This Lego miniland-scale Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder' (1959 - Scaglietti), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.
This particular vehicle was auctioned by the RM Auction house on Saturday, August 14, 2010, where it sold for $2,612,500.
Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder (Scaglietti 1959)
s/n 1489GT
240 bhp, 2,953 cc, overhead-camshaft alloy block and head V12 engine, with four-speed gearbox, independent front suspension via A-arms, coil springs and telescopic shocks, and rear suspension via live axle, semi-elliptic springs and hydraulic shocks, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 102.4"
- One of only 50 built
- Delivered new to Prince Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia
- Matching numbers
- Multiple awards, including Platinum Award and Pebble Beach class win
The 250 GT Pinin Farina Spyder
Towards the end of 1957, when the Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Cabriolet went into production, a prototype for another open-top car appeared, aimed squarely at the U.S. market. It was called the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder and was thought by many aficionados to be one of the most beautiful cars ever to come out of Maranello – a view still held by many to this day.
The California Spyder’s development was spurred on by the recognition that Stateside buyers wanted a fast, sparsely equipped convertible Ferrari sports car, the convertible counterpart of the Tour de France berlinettas. Whether it was Luigi Chinetti or John von Neumann who first pointed this out to Ferrari is immaterial. What is important, however, is that Ferrari responded with the California Spyder.
These open cars were quite different in concept and execution to their PF Cabriolet counterparts. The Pinin Farina Cabriolet was based on the Pininfarina Coupe, a luxurious gran turismo. The California Spyder was a much sportier car, based on the dual-purpose berlinettas also designed by Pinin Farina, though built in small numbers in Modena by Carrozzeria Scaglietti, which was partly owned by Ferrari. The procedure was described by Ferrari in their official history and catalogue as a simple one: “Pinin Farina prepared the prototype, which was then sent to Maranello to be inspected by Enzo Ferrari. Although the final decision was naturally his, the dealers also had an important say in the matter and were often called in to give their opinions.” Scaglietti would then take over: “His job was to produce the set number of ‘reproductions’ of the model and to equip himself for the task on the basis of the systems in use at Maranello, which was far more ‘artisan’ in approach than those used by Pinin Farina.”
California Spyder production began in 1958, and some 11 examples had been built by the time it was announced as a separate model in December 1958. All told, 14 California Spyders were built during 1958, with the remaining 36 cars built between 1959 and 1960, including at least three fitted with alloy bodies; they were constructed to full competition specifications.
Certainly in the case of the 250 GT California Spyder, Ferrari’s two US distributors did have serious input in the design of the new car. Luigi Chinetti, who set up the first, and for a while the only, Ferrari dealership in the US, later had all the territory east of the Mississippi River, which amounted to about half the country. Luigi Chinetti was also the founder of NART – the North American Racing Team, the racing arm of Chinetti’s distributorship. The other influential distributor was the Austrian-born John von Neumann, whose racing and dealership interests were based out of California.
Both Chinetti and von Neumann recognized a gap in the market for a higher performance open-top car in America that was not filled by the luxurious 250 GT Cabriolet. It seemed obvious to base this car on the 250 GT Berlinetta (Tour de France), which lacked a convertible version.
The Tour de France was originally known as the 250 GT Berlinetta. The Tour de France nickname was added after the car’s domination of the legendary and grueling ten-day French event, in which the car’s performance, reliability and durability made it a success.
In the end, 14 California Spyders were built during 1958, with the remaining 36 cars built between 1959 and 1960, including at least seven fitted with alloy bodies, constructed to full competition specification. When the 250 GT SWB (short wheelbase) Berlinetta was launched, it was followed shortly thereafter by the corresponding SWB California Spyder, which was introduced at Geneva in March 1960. By the time production came to a close, a total of just 106 California Spyders had been built, 50 of them on the LWB chassis.
One California Spyder was entered by NART at Sebring early in 1959 and driven by Richie Ginther and Howard Hively. It finished ninth overall (behind four Testarossas and four Porsche RSKs) and won the GT class. Le Mans in 1959 conclusively demonstrated the performance of the California Spyder as the NART-entered, alloy-bodied car driven by Bob Grossman and Fernand Tavano finished fifth overall.
Chassis no. 1489 GT
The original left-hand drive LWB California Spyder offered here, s/n 1489 GT, was completed by the factory on September 19th, 1959 as the 32nd of 50 examples that would ultimately be built and was delivered new to its first owner Prince Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia of Italy, resident in Geneva, Switzerland. Born in 1937, Vittorio Emanuele has led quite a colorful life and is the only son of the last King of Italy, Umberto II. He has lived most of his life outside Italy, primarily in Switzerland, following the referendum of 1946, whereby the Italian people voted in favor of a republic. He has worked in a variety of professions, from banker to aircraft salesman and was famously married to Swiss heiress and water skier Marina Ricolfi-Doria.
By 1962, 1489 GT was offered for sale by German racing driver and car dealer Wolfgang Seidel in Dusseldorf. The car was owned by Dr. Hans Hardt of Waldernbach, Germany in the mid-1960s before it was exported to the United States in 1968.
Mrs. Ellis Little of Greenfield, New Hampshire owned the car in 1970, and it has remained stateside ever since. It is known to have been in Philadelphia in 1980 at Mark Smith’s Old Philadelphia Motorcar Corp. before being restored two years later at Bob Smith Coachworks in Gainesville, Texas. At that time, it was converted to covered headlight specification and repainted black with a red stripe and red leather interior.
In 1992 Smith showed the car during the 27th Annual Ferrari Club of America National Meeting in the Washington, DC area, where it placed First in Class Three. Collector Anthony W. Wang then showed the car at the exclusive Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance later in the year, where it again placed first in its class (Class M – Ferrari Custom Coachwork through 1964). The car continued to participate in a number of events, including the Blackhawk Collection invitational at Danville, California and the third annual Colorado Grand in 1991.
Anthony Wang sold the car to RM Classic Cars Inc. in May 1998. While in RM’s possession, the car attended the 1998 FCA National Meet in Toronto, Ontario, where it was involved in both the track day and the concours, at which it won a gold award.
In September of 1998, Richard Sirota, another noted collector from New York, acquired the car and brought it to the Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach the following year, where it won the coveted Platinum Award. In fact, Sirota also participated in the Colorado Grand in 1999. One year later it was sold to a very prominent collection in Japan and later shown in 2004 at The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering in Carmel Valley. Noted enthusiast Enrique Landa purchased the car in 2006, brought it back to The Quail the same year and, once again, participated in the Colorado Grand.
The current owner has enjoyed the car since the summer of 2008. It has fulfilled its objective in providing sunny afternoon drives, trips to concours and shows and is certain to fulfill those same for its new owner. Few cars are as perpetually desirable, timelessly gorgeous and rarely available as a Ferrari California Spyder. This is one of the finest examples we’ve ever offered.
[Text from RM Auctions]
www.rmauctions.com/mo10/sports--classics-of-monterey/lots...
This Lego miniland-scale Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder' (1959 - Scaglietti), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.
This particular vehicle was auctioned by the RM Auction house on Saturday, August 14, 2010, where it sold for $2,612,500.