The controversy
The California Spider is one of the most famous Ferraris ever, at least as a 250 GT, both as an LWB and even more so as an SWB. The fact that there was a third model series as the California Spyder (yes, now with a Y) is less well known, even among connoisseurs. No wonder, as only 14 were built in 18 months. Yet this open-top Ferrari certainly deserved more attention, as it was also the first model with the 4.4-litre engine that founded the long series of 365-series Ferraris.
Since the beginning of the 1950s, Ferrari had always had a range of top-of-the-range cars that were not based on motorsport, but were intended more for the rich and beautiful. From 1964, there was the 500 Superfast with its 5-litre V12 with a good 400 hp, by far the fastest Gran Turismo of those years – and twice as expensive as Rolls-Royces at the time. However, after 37 examples had been built, Ferrari ran out of elite customers and needed a new thrill.
However, this consisted primarily of looks. The prototype built in January 1966 and then presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March (#8347, pictures above) was still based on the chassis of the 330 GT 2+2 (Tipo 571) built from 1961 onwards. This meant unequal-length double wishbones with coil springs at the front and the long outdated rigid axle at the rear. The 4.4-litre V12, designated Tipo 217B, was a further development of the 4-litre V12 (Tipo 209) from the 330, which in turn was based on the basic design of the legendary Colombo V12 from 1947; the stroke remained unchanged at 71 millimetres, but the bore was increased to 81 millimetres. Fed by three Weber twin carburettors (type 40DF), the engine produced 320 hp. (Picture below: #9849)
The shape of the Ferrari 365 California Spyder naturally came from Pininfarina, with Tom Tjaarda as the executive designer. With a length of 4.9 metres, the open-top Ferrari was the largest Ferrari model to date – and the design was not universally admired, the huge overhangs at the front and rear were criticised and a strange mixture of curves and lines was seen. The rear lights were also not universally liked, the front too much like the 500 Superfast. Nevertheless, the midnight blue prototype with its beige-coloured cord interior was certainly one of the eye-catchers at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, and the first contracts were signed. (Picture below: #10327)
Production did not start until August 1966, as Pininfarina was still busy with other special vehicles. And the basis was no longer the Tipo 571 chassis, but the somewhat more modern substructure of the Ferrari 500 Superfast (Tipo 598). 13 further examples were built by October 1967, with these chassis numbers: #9127, #9447, #9615, #9631, #9801, #9849, #9889, #9935, #9985, #10077, #10155, #10327 and #10369. With the exception of #10155, all are believed to still exist. Below we show #9935, which was offered at RM Sotheby’s in Miami in March 2024 with an estimate of 4 to 4.5 million dollars, but could not be sold.
Now there is a new attempt, again RM Sotheby’s, Monterey 2024, but the estimate has been revised significantly downwards, with an expected price of 2.75 to 3.25 million dollars.
We have more exciting Ferraris in our archive.
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