Ferrari 250GT SWB Spyder California
Starting off in 1958, Ferrari was convinced by two U.S. distributors, Jon von Neumann and Luigi Chinetti, to create a convertible to be named after their best market, California. So by 1959, emerged the California Spyder, the rare super-performance car which had very limited availability in the market and each car had its specialty, from competing-spec engines to rare factory hard tops. First introduced in 1960 at the Geneva Auto Show, the interior of the car was no-frills and fabric top behind the seats. A heater being the only luxury in the car, it soon became the successor of the legendary 250 GT who won Tour de France. It was the most coveted car in the U.S. and was often referred at the “Cal Spyder” by Hollywood movie stars like James Coburn.
It had a 140 mph engine and the same competing chassis like the other Ferraris, and the next best thing was to equip it with super-powered engines and aluminum bodywork for its races in Europe. The cars competed in the same standards like the GT cars and were given the ’sports car’ title by the drivers. Carozerria Scaglietti hand-crafted their bodies and his designs were based on Pinin Farina’s 250 GT Cabriolet Series I. The only exception was a new upright rear headlight. The Spyder was made in two series:
- 250 GT’s wet-sump version with a V12 version.
- A stiffer short wheel base (SWB) chassis in 1959.
The production years were 1958 – 1963 with only 125 cars being produced in Modena, Italy. Reaching from 0-60 mph in nearly 6.5 seconds, it had a top speed of nearly 145 mph. The car had a 4-speed manual transmission with gear ratios from 2.54:1 to 1.00:1. The car had 250 bhp with a 2953 cc V12 engine. While specific output was 84.66 bhp per litre, the fuel feed contained three 40 DCL6 Weber Carburetors, so the car could hold a lot more fuel than its predecessor, 250 GT. The torque of the car was 275 Nm, which made it the perfect racecar. The design of the car was so popular that it was copied in Hollywood movies, such as, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, where Modena Design and Research replicated the design using a Mustang 5.0 engine and an MGB frame. Ferrari pursued Modena responsible for the continuous replications of the designs, not only by him but other companies as well. The car weighed just 1100 kg, lighter than the 250 GT who weighed 1310 kg, so that it could drive faster. The estimated mileage of the car is 400,000 km.
The California Spyder was used in the 1960’s Tour de France (TdF). Bob Grossman, amateur racecar driver won his SSCA class using the ‘Cal Spyder’ and Fernando Tavano finished fifth overall in Le Mans. The main reason for the car’s success was reliability, durability, and performance. The last California Spyder was built in 1963, after which it was succeeded by the 250 GT Berlinetta.
The car was recently auctioned in an auto sale and was bought by BBC presentator Chris Evans for nearly 5 million pounds.
- Hiren Naresh
Tags: cars, ferrari 250gt swb spyder california, racecars
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