Stunning 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Heading For Auction

A couple of days ago, we showed you a 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica going under the hammer. It ended up fetching a staggering $7,645,000. If you think that’s impressive, wait until you get a load of this…

RM Sotherby just announced the line-up of cars at Villa Erba auction at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on May 23rd. Among other fine automotive dreams, there’s this 1961 Blu Scuro Ferrari 250 SWB California waiting to go under the hammer.

In case you are not a Ferrari aficionado, let me tell a few words about the Blu Scuro 250 SWB California. It’s one of the most sought after prancing horses – basically, a dark blue, short wheel base, madly expensive Ferrari legend.

Its collectible status is not only achieved by its rarity, although just 56 were made of which only 16 have the open headlight look. No, this car is a desirable piece of objet d’art, destined for collectors and connoisseurs who appreciate its history and its craftsmanship.

Like almost every 250 series Ferrari, this one was hand-build. The coachbuilder in charge for creating one of the most iconic and beautiful cabriolet bodies for the SWB 250 chassis was none other than Scaglietti. Its simple design is miles away from the aerodynamic philosophy with cuts and creases carried out by modern Ferraris.

According to RM Sotherby’s listing, the car underwent a thorough restoration at Ferrari’s Classiche department and it was driven by Luca di Montezemolo at one point. Not to mention it’s one of the few California that weren’t delivered straight to the U.S. but instead was bought brand new in Italy.

Under its hood lies the legendary Type 128D V12 3-litre power plant accompanied by three Webber carburetors. Although the engine is a restrained version of Colmbo Tipo 125 racing version, power figures are not important on a car of this caliber, but it’s around 230bhp, if you really want to know.

So, you see, this car is not aimed at the nouveau riche and that’s why it will broke the cash-o-meter around an eight figure mark. We’ll just have to wait and see, but I’m betting it will fetch North of $12 million.

By Bogdan Zoltan