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The Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder stole the spotlight in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Here’s what makes the car so special.
Bueller…Bueller….
1962 Ferrari 250 – carsforsale.com | Shop 1962 Ferrari 250 on Carsforsale.com
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off starred Matthew Broderick as the titular truant alongside costars Alan Ruck and a red Ferrari. The beloved 80s John Hughes classic glorified a lot of bad teenage behavior ranging from skipping school and impersonating important businesspeople (Abe Froman, Sausage King of Chicago) to commandeering a parade for one’s self-aggrandizement, and perhaps worst of all, pressuring your best friend to steal borrow their dad’s priceless and pristine 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder.
The borrowing of the Ferrari piles on the miles (aided by some fun-loving valets) which leads to Ferris’ doomed plan to roll back the odometer by running the car in reverse on jack stands. Cameron (Ruck), panicked but also tired of fearing his father’s disapproval, kicks the running car in frustration…right out the window of the hillside garage.
Of course, the car we see flying out the window is not a real Ferrari, but one of three replicas built for the film by Modena Design & Development. A job for which Modena Design was sued by Ferrari, who are notorious killjoys when it comes to anyone mucking with their brand image.
Full disclosure, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was a huge influence on me as a kid. I too feigned grave illness and skipped school with a clear conscience, secure in my belief that I, like Ferris, was a beloved wisecracking rascal of the first order for whom there were literally zero consequences. Sadly, none of my friends’ dads owned a Ferrari nor could I, at the time, have fathomed how special such a car really was.
Older, wiser, and infinitely more conscientious, today I wanted to share with you, dear readers, one of the rarest and most spectacular of Cool Car Finds we’ve ever featured: a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder.
The Real California Spyder
Turning the clock back to the late 1950s, Ferrari, helmed by the eponymous Enzo Ferrari, focused largely on building racecars and racing, building road-going GTs to keep the proverbial and literal lights on at Scuderia Ferrari (the company’s racing arm). The 250 GT California Spyder was the idea of American Ferrari dealer Jon von Neumann who suggested the idea of a drop-top GT with racing DNA for the US market, and California in particular, to a friend of Enzo’s, Luigi Chinetti who just happened to oversee Ferrari distribution in America and France. *
The 250 GT California Spyder was based on the Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta racecar with the design of the car done by Pininfarina and coachwork and assembly performed by Scaglietti of Modena. As a proper Ferrari, the car featured a 3.0L Colombo V12 good for 240 horsepower and paired with a four-speed manual transmission. **
The 250 GT California Spyder was produced from 1957 through 1963, split between long wheelbase (LWB) cars at 260 cm (102.4 inches) produced from ’57 into 1960 and short wheelbase (SWB) cars at 240 cm (94.5 inches) built from 1960 through 1963. Just 106 250 GT California Spyders were completed, making them exceptionally rare and highly collectable today.
This Cool Car
1962 Ferrari 250 – carsforsale.com | Shop 1962 Ferrari 250 on Carsforsale.com
Our Cool Car Find is a 1962, that is a SWB, Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder in red with a tan interior. Every inch of the car is immaculate thanks to a full restoration. Even among Ferrari, this car is exceptionally beautiful. The modest bright work contrasts with the bold red paint job. The tan leather interior is as supple and inviting as the leather driving gloves you’ll have to buy to match the car. The simple elegance of this car elevates it from the realm of the merely automotive to the rarefied air of true artistry. It’s no wonder Cameron’s dad was so obsessed with his 250 GT California.
For more great cars from non-car movies, click here.
*Chinette was also a serious and successful racecar driver, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, once in 1934 and again in 1949.
**Reportedly, the Modena Design replicas had automatic transmissions as Broderick didn’t know how to drive a manual.
