1958 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder LWB

If Sirus paid a typical 1970 price, he probably paid under $10k for the car—and his selling price in January 1988 was $375,000. But it gets even better

by John Apen

Initially conceived as a gran turisimo, Ferrari’s 250 soon diverged into two paths, the GT coupes and cabriolets and the lightweight competition berlinettas. The berlinettas designed by Pininfarina and built in small numbers by Scaglietti were the ultimate dual-purpose cars, competitive at Le Mans but often driven to races. Nowhere were the 250 berlinettas more at home than on the Tour de France, the legendary marathon where performance, reliability and adaptability made the marque a consistent winner. Ferrari’s two U.S. distributors, Luigi Chinetti and John von Neumann, recognized the market for a lightweight GT convertible and the California Spyder emerged. The first cars were open versions of the Tour de France berlinetta, with subtle detail changes introduced by the talented Scaglietti, whose experience building Ferrari competition cars made him ideal to produce a lightweight GT. This 1958 Spyder is the ninth of 50 long-wheelbase cars built. A...