The Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder is a prestige sports car developed by the Italian car manufacturer Ferrari. It is presented by the brand as Ferrari 250 Gran Turismo Spyder California or simply Ferrari 250 California.[1] Its name is sometimes incorrectly written Spider instead of 'Spyder' which indicates it is similar to a convertible. It was designed by Pininfarina[Note 1] and bodied by Carrozzeria Scaglietti. Starring in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, it became one of the most popular Ferraris.[2]
The 250 GT California Spyder a convertible version of the contemporary berlinetta.[3] Powered by the traditional Ferrari V12 engine, it was produced in a hundred copies, divided almost equally between a long wheel-bases (LWB) from 1957 to 1960 and a short wheel-bases (SWB) from 1960 to 1964.
On May 18, 2008, a midnight blue Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder SWB sold at the "Ferrari Leggenda e Passione" auction, organized by Sotheby's, for a record price of EUR 7 million, becoming one of the most expensive retro/classic cars in history. A Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that belonged to French actor Alain Delon in the 1960s, was purchased on February 5, 2015 for nearly EUR 16.3 million, during an auction in Paris at Artcurial creating a world record for this model at auction.
Context and background
The American consumers had become fascinated with European auto racing and their relatively small sports cars such that most of the small sports car manufacturers on the old continent sell a large part of their production across the Atlantic.[4]
And while the convertibles were a phenomenal success, especially on the West Coast, two important American dealers - Jon von Neumann in California and Luigi Chinetti in New York - convinced Ferrari to produce a radically sporty convertible[2][5] that would be exclusively destined for America. They assured Enzo Ferrari that there was a market for a hardtop version of a race car, a niche that the luxurious 250 GT Cabriolet Pinin Farina could not fill according to Neumann.[5][6] In an interview, Chinetti explains "that in Italy it was difficult for the company to seriously consider a convertible as a sports car".[7][Note 2]
Originally, Enzo Ferrari did not want to produce the California since the 250 GT Cabriolet Pinin Farina, popular in Europe, was already available in the company's catalog. Nevertheless, if he had not accepted Chinetti and Neumann's proposal, it is very likely that they would have acquired 250 GT Berlinettas "Tour de France" or SWB, and entrusted their transformation into a spider to Scaglietti. This is indeed what they did in 1967 to some Ferrari 275 GTB/4 while Ferrari was opposed to it.[7]
This is how the 250 GT California Spyder was born, whose name is a nod to its future Californian customers; its race car performance, its limited number of examples and its specifications to each model,[5][8] surely explain the interest it still has today. Initially presented as a prototype in 1957, series production began in the second quarter of 1958.[9]
At the 1960 Geneva International Motor Show, the 250 GT California Spyder - until then produced on the long chassis of the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta "Tour de France", which had a wheelbase of 2.60 m - was replaced by a short chassis version with a wheelbase reduced to 2.40 m, similar to the treatment recently received by the berlinetta on which it was based. This reduction reflects Ferrari's desire to improve the car's performance, especially its cornering speed.[10]
Exterior appearance
A Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder LWB with fairing headlights.
The design of the California, considered one of the most successful in the history of the automobile,[9] is signed by the hand of Pinin Farina. It is very close aesthetically to the luxurious Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Pinin Farina Series I, convertible appeared and produced the same year, the California is nevertheless more "slender";[2] to a line of fluid body stretching from the front lights to the curve of the wings is associated the aggressiveness of the grille in "shark mouth".[8]
1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder
Built on the basis of the berlinette, it takes up most of its aesthetic aspects, and in particular the "hip recess"[11] in front of the rear wheels. The windshield slope is more pronounced since it is a convertible.[11]
The adoption in 1960 of the short chassis of the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB "gives it [moreover] more compact proportions which muscularize the silhouette of the California."[12] The two versions of the California (SWB and LWB) are also distinguished from each other by the design of the air intake on the hood, which feeds air to the carburetors; on the SWB version, this is half recessed.
Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder rear
The 250 GT California Spyder was hand-built by Carrozzeria Scaglietti in its Modena workshop, as were most Ferrari competition models of the time. Although it would have been easier if Pinin Farina had also bodied the new convertible, the latter is too busy to ensure the production.[5]
Unlike the Pinin Farina Cabriolet, Scaglietti opted for Marchal headlights, which were enclosed in plexiglas, and housed the fog lights in the grille. The purchaser of a California can nevertheless opt for projecting headlights;[9] in Italy, on the other hand, the legislation imposed non fairing headlights.[3] Scaglietti did not provide a place to attach the license plate, so owners had to improvise to comply with the regulations of their country.[13]
Interior
Interior of a 250 GT California Spyder SWB.
If the finish is close to the one realized on the 250 GT Cabriolet Pinin Farina I, the California's interior is nevertheless "spartan"[14] and much less luxurious.[6]
On the dashboard, seven circular dials, including the tachometer and the rev counter, inform the driver of the engine operation.[15] These are all located behind the three-spoke Nardi steering wheel, made of wood and aluminum, on the LWB version, while they line up on the dashboard for the SWB version.
Chassis, brakes and suspensions
Sharing its chassis and drivetrain with the 250 GT "Tour of France", the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder was equipped with an independent suspension with superimposed triangles and coil springs at the front, and a rigid axle at the rear, suspended by leaf springs and guided by four push struts[12] and link shocks.[4] Telescopic shock absorbers replaced the Houdaille torsion bars at the front in 1960.[15]
Its chassis evolved in detail with that of the "Tour of France" berlinetta, before undergoing in May 1960 the radical wheelbase change introduced on the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB.[16] The change to a 2,400 mm wheelbase was also an opportunity to widen the tracks and reduce the ground clearance.[15]
The tubular chassis, on which the bodywork is made of steel except for the doors, which are made of aluminum, is about 100 kilograms heavier than that of the Berlinetta.[9] This weight difference is explained by the need to reinforce the architecture of the convertible, due to the absence of a hardtop. Although the car weighs a little more than a ton, sources differ on the precise weight of the car.
Braking was provided by drum brakes until October 1959, when the 250 GT California Spyder was equipped with Dunlop disc brakes.[8]
Engine and transmission
The traditional Ferrari "Colombo" 12 cylinder V engine.
The Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder is powered by the traditional Ferrari "Colombo" 12-cylinder V-engine (Type 168) in light alloy with two overhead camshafts and two valves per cylinder. This engine, named in honor of its designer Gioacchino Colombo, has equipped the entire 250 series since 1952.
Open at 60°, with a displacement of 2,953 cm3 (bore/stroke of 73 mm × 58.8 mm) and fed by three Weber double-barrel carburetors of 36 millimeters (DCL), then 42 millimeters (DCL/6) from 1960 onwards, the engine initially developed 240 hp at 7,000 rpm for the LWB version before being increased to 280 hp when the short SWB[8] chassis was introduced, thanks to its new cylinder heads and larger valves.[12] Combined with a 4-speed gearbox, the engine showed "docility, availability and resistance"[17] for its time.
In 1960, the spark plugs were placed outside the V, as in the 250 Testa Rossa, to facilitate maintenance,[15] while an overdrive was associated with the gearbox.[14] The front air intake was usually supplemented by two side vents with three polished aluminum slots, located behind the front wheels, to ventilate the engine.[9][13]
Competition
Although not intended for competition, many California Spyders competed in endurance races and won some of them, such as the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1959 (with Richie Ginther and Howard Hively) and 1960 (with Giorgio Scarlatti, Fabrizio Serena and Carlo Abate). Driven by Bob Grossman and Fernand Tavano, the California Spyder of the North American Racing Team also finished fifth in the 1959 24 hours of Le Mans.[10][6] Some of the Californias were also equipped with the engine of the "Competizione" berlinettes, the sportiest versions.
Posterity
Now considered "one of the most beautiful Ferraris and cabriolets in the history of the automobile",[9] the 250 GT California Spyder is also one of the most expensive cars; on May 18, 2008, television host Chris Evans acquired a copy of the car, which had been owned by American actor James Coburn, at the "Ferrari Legends and Passions" auction organized by Sotheby's, for a record price of 7,040,000 euros.[18]
On February 6, 2015, during Artcurial's auction at the Retromobile show, the Ferrari 250GT California short chassis (SWB, 37 Exemplars) found a few months earlier in Roger Baillon's property in Echiré, broke records by being sold for €14,200,000 (excluding auction fees).[19] This Ferrari has a particular history having belonged to several French movie stars, such as Alain Delon, but above all, it was lost from sight for almost 30 years by all the specialists of the brand, to reappear in one of the greatest car collections ever found, the Baillon collection. The 250GT was found under a pile of newspapers, next to a Maserati A6G GranSport.[20]
As with the 250 GTE and the "2+2" bodies, the sporty convertibles are a permanent feature of the Ferrari range. In 2008, the Ferrari California was unveiled, a convertible coupe with styling elements reminiscent of the 250 GT California Spyder.[21][22]
^"INSOLITE / L'ancienne Ferrari California d'un Jurassien vendue 14,2 millions d'euros," Le Progrès, February 6, 2015 (read online, accessed August 11, 2020).
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Hartmut Lehbrink, Rainer W. Schlegelmilch and Jochen von Osterroth (2004). Ferrari. Paris: Editions Place des Victoires. pp. 408 p. ISBN978-2-84459-078-7.
Brian Laban (2009). Ferrarissime. Glénat, Editions Atlas. pp. 221 p. ISBN978-2-7234-7314-9.
