An allegedly unique Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider fetched U.S. $18,045,000 at an auction earlier this week. The original owner handed over $2,400 for it in 1972. Even when adjusted for inflation, the amount translates into roughly $17,700 – a bargain bin price for a Ferrari and less than 1/1000 of its current selling price.
The California Spider was originally introduced at the 1962 New York International Auto Show as a car designed specifically for the U.S. market. This example was manufactured in the same year and suffered in an incident sometime around 1970, speeding into a curb. The collision left its body intact, but damaged a wheel, some of the chassis and the exhaust system.
Having considered the repairs too costly, the owner at the time allowed for the vehicle to be repossessed. It was later discovered at a junkyard by collectors Charles Betz and Fred Peters, who proceeded to buy it out and restore to factory condition in the 2000s. In 2008, the ride flaunted a Ferrari Classiche certificate of authenticity and was indistinguishable from new.
Only 106 units had been produced in 1957–1963, 56 of them considered by some enthusiasts to be “Generation 2” due to their shorter wheelbase. Only 37 out of them had the headlights like the ones in the gallery here. The example sold this week had been named simply “rare”, but the auction holder proclaimed it “unique”, arguing that no other example had an Azzurro Metallizzato body finish going along with brown leather in the cabin.