This 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Could Fetch $20 Million at Auction

An ultra-rare Prancing Horse is headed for the block this summer.

A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione will be auctioned off at Pebble Beach in mid-August in a sale that could fetch more than $20 million. The model may become the single most expensive car Gooding Christie’s has ever sold.

The auto is one of only two competition-spec, alloy-bodied 250 GT SWB California Spiders ever made. This 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione has also never been offered to the public for sale before, though Gooding Christie’s has sold many others. The car is known as the 2383 GT for its chassis number.

“In over two decades of representing the world’s most important Ferraris, we’ve had the privilege of handling nearly every iteration of the California Spider—a perennial favorite among collectors and a true specialty of our firm,” David Brynan, a Gooding Christie’s specialist, said in a statement. “Without question, 2383 GT stands out as the most significant and compelling example we’ve ever presented. This car offers the full measure of what makes a great 250 Ferrari so coveted—rarity, beauty, provenance, and originality. It is that elusive collector car that excels on every front: eligible for top-tier concours and historic racing events, yet elegant, usable, and genuinely enjoyable to drive.”

There were just 56 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spiders built in total. This example is powered by a V-12 engine making 280 horsepower, including an added 40 horsepower for racing.

“Equipped by Carrozzeria Scaglietti with lightweight aluminum bodywork, covered headlamps, and a rare, removable aluminum hardtop, 2383 GT was fitted with a competition-style, quick-release external fuel filler,” Gooding Christie’s notes in its release.

A German gentleman racer who competed on hills and tracks first bought the car back in 1961. It then changed hands a few times in Europe before an Indiana man purchased it in 1968. A TV producer later bought the car before he sold it to its current owner in 1999. That owner had the car restored and repainted, and it has since been shown at various events across the world, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Le Mans Classic.

To date, Gooding Christie’s current record is $22 million, which was the priced that a Duesenberg SSJ built for Gary Cooper fetched in a 2018 auction, the 16th-most expensive car ever sold at public auction. That put the Duesenberg in the company of cars like a 1955 Jaguar D-Type, a 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider, and a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 Roadster.

Even if the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione merely sells at or around its estimate of $20 million, it would make our top 25 most-expensive cars at auction list, nestling somewhere between a 1994 McLaren F1, a 1995 McLaren F1, a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Lungo Spider, and a 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 W04, all of which sold for around $20 million.

The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione headlines what sounds like a strong set of lots for Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach Auction. Cars up for grabs include a Bugatti Bolide, a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Torpédo, a 1952 Jaguar C-Type, and a Ferrari F40.

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The auction will take place on August 15 and 16.

Click here for more photos of the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione.