World’s first Ferrari 250 GT SWB California estimated at $18M

A rare Ferrari 250 GT SWB California will go on sale at Sotheby’s during the Monterey Car Week in California on August 15–17. It is one out of only 56 short-wheelbase roadsters of its kind ever made, and one that Ferrari brought to the Geneva Motor Show in 1960. The estimated selling price is around U.S. $16–18 million.

When it hit the spotlight in Switzerland more than six decades ago, the car had a striking red leather interior. It has since been brought back to Maranello, retrimmed in black, and handed over to its first owner – John Gordon Bennett, a UK racing driver who lived in Geneva at the time.

The car then proceeded to change owners multiple times, participated in numerous Concours d’Elegance events, and ultimately landed in the Petersen Automotive Museum collection in 1997, staying there for a short while to celebrate the Ferrari brand turning 50 years old.

It is now heading to the auction still wearing its original Scaglietti bodywork, soft top and paint coat. It also packs the original 3.0-liter V12 engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive. The seller has a Ferrari Classiche certificate to confirm the authenticity of the parts.