1962 Ferrari 250 California Spyder SWB Review and Buyer's Guide

This car, S/N 3119 was sold by RM Classic Car Auction in Phoenix in January 2000 for $1,265,000, including 10% buyer’s premium. One of just thirty-seven covered-headlight SWB Cal Spyders, it had been restored by Walt McCune and had a résumé, according to the auction company, that included a first in class at Pebble Beach.

$1.265M is 15% over SCM’s Price Guide high of $1.1M and the highest price paid for a California Spyder at auction since the wild ’89-90s peak. The price paid was higher than, but close to, three recent sales of SWB Spyders. So it appears to be “market correct.” But why are these particular open Ferraris worth over a million?

First, rarity: All valuable cars are rare, but not all rare cars are valuable. Over a thirty-year period, the total number of all serial production Ferrari Spyders built, since the first, a Farina 166 Inter (S/N 011) to the last Daytona Spyder in 1974 (S/N 17073) is under 900. That’s not very many cars. At the value pinnacle are the ten 275 GTB/4 NART Spyders, one of which sold for over $2M in 1998. At the other end are the 250 PF Cabriolet Series II with open headlights, of which 202 were made. These still command $100 to $150K. Just fifty-four SWB and forty-nine LWB Cal Spyders were produced from 1958 to 1963.

The second part of the value equation is racing history: California Spyders were raced, although not extensively, with the most significant finish being a fifth overall at Le Mans for a LWB in 1959. Even this limited competition aura acts as a magic booster for Ferrari prices. The alloy racing versions bring a big premium; the one alloy SWB, with a competition history, is probably worth $2M.

Third, aesthetics: The covered-headlight California is a design that impresses most observers with its classic beauty. The open-headlight cars—sixteen out of the fifty-four—are not quite as racy looking and are worth perhaps $100K less. Certainly the producers of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” thought the California had the right look. (Don’t worry, they didn’t send a real one through the plate-glass window. It was a well-proportioned fiberglass-bodied fake.)

Fourth, condition: The auction catalog says S/N 3119 won “many first places and class wins, including Pebble Beach.” Let’s investigate. The car, as nice as it is, does not stand up to the scrutiny (some say nitpicking) of current Ferrari concours judging. There is nothing seriously wrong that a few thousand dollars spent with the right expert wouldn’t take care of, but as it stands, this is not a 95+ point car.

The 1990 win at Pebble Beach was in a rather unusual class, “Cars Influenced by Bizzarrini.” Any PB win is significant, but it’s likely that the usual expert Ferrari judges did not judge it. At the next competitive event it was entered in, which was, as far as can be determined, the 1994 International Ferrari Concours in Monterey, it did not place in a class of sixteen SWB Californias, perhaps because of the few incorrect details. Auction buyers should exercise due diligence when reading catalog descriptions of awards and drawing implications from these past prizes.

Was the $1.2M paid here reasonable? In today’s market, yes. The SWB California, #3677, that recently was auctioned for $1,007,000 in Switzerland at the Brooks Gstaad sale (Brooks Europe Auction Report, February 2000, page 36), certainly illustrates the volatility of the Ferrari market during the past decade. #3677 was bought ten years earlier at the height of the market for $2.3M. It was for sale for almost nine years, starting at $2.8M and decreasing year by year. When finally sold around 1997, probably for $650,000, the IRS could not believe the loss the good doctor/owner was claiming, and substantial documentation was requested. Incidentally, the $1M it brought in December 1999 at Gstaad was an indicator of how far the market has recovered from the $495,000 asking price for a SWB California Spyder in 1994, the lowest “modern-times” price. #3677 had also been recently converted to the more pleasing (and valuable when original) covered headlights.

Clearly, high-end Ferrari prices have recovered much of the ground they lost in the early ’90s. The real question is, will Cal Spyders suddenly jump from $1.2M to $2.4M, or will they just keep eking out small, yearly increases? In a decade, if SWB Cal Spyders are bringing $2M, that would represent an annual compounded growth rate of 7%. While less than your favorite corporate bond will yield, it’s hard to have much fun taking a box of negotiable securities on a vintage rally.

In my opinion, SWB Cal Spyders should be regarded as fully priced at the moment, but with another 25% of upside potential in the next 12 to 24 months. That makes this car a good buy.—John Apen