1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider by Scaglietti

This is the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider by Scaglietti and it’s hard to imagine any other two words associated with a Ferrari like ‘California Spider’ that raises so many eyebrows and gets so much instant attention as those two.

Considered by many to be the most beautiful Ferrari to ever leave the Maranello factory, this 1958 classic had the muscle and the racing pedigree to back up its good looks and sleek lines.

First hitting the Ferrari production line in 1958 the 250 GT LWB California Spider had very few modifications to it’s hardtop siblings with the prototype being almost unchanged (apart from the soft top roof of course). Later in its production some engine modifications such as reinforced connecting rods and crankshaft and a new chassis would be added, but the 250 GT LWB California Spider kept the same wheelbase as the 250 GT throughout its production.

Sold in the US by Luigi Chinetti Motors only 14 were built during 1958 with a further 36 being built between 1959 and 1960. The California Spider is as close as Ferrari came to building a touring class sports car since the early Barchettas, and only it and the later 275 GTB/4 N.A.R.T. Spiders have the elemental high-speed, open-air attitude that sets these cars apart from their more common cabriolet counterparts. In 2013 a Ferrari 275 GTB/4 N.A.R.T. Spider was sold for a record $27 million dollars.

Read more about the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider by Scaglietti on RM Auctions website