H.R. Owen are proud to offer Chris Evans’ beautiful 1959 Ferrari 250GT LWB California Spider. Chris is well known as one of Britain’s best loved TV and radio presenters, but is now almost as well known for his wonderful and varied collection of Ferraris.

A true motoring enthusiast and a life-long fan of the Ferrari marque, he has recently started to build up his Ferrari collection. His most famous purchase was the ex James Coburn 250 GT SWB California Spider that he bought for a record breaking sum in May 2008. With this celebrity car in his collection he has decided that his earlier example should find a new custodian.

Chris acquired this car, chassis # 1253 GT, in 2007 and it is offered in the original Verde Pino Metallizzato with a complimentary magnolia leather interior and the car features the widely preferred covered headlight arrangement.  Completed in March of 1959 this steel bodied car was ordered with high lift cams, velocity stacks and a competition engine.  The odometer was also ordered to show mph.  The engine was recently fully rebuilt by a marque specialist, and this ‘matching numbers’ car comes with a well detailed history.  Critically for its provenance the car has been through the Ferrari Classiche programme offered by the Factory in Maranello and comes with their certificate of authenticity.  This certification guarantees that the vehicle conforms to the original design and also certifies that the originality and/or specification of the major components like the chassis, engine, gearbox, transmission, suspension, brakes, wheels, bodywork and interior meets their strict criteria.  This certification involves a meticulous examination by Ferrari Classiche certified experts.

The 250 GT California Spider in long wheelbase (2600mm) form was first built in 1957, with coachwork designed and built by Scaglietti in Modena. Around fifty examples were constructed, of which chassis # 1253 GT was the twenty first built before it was succeeded by the virtually identical short wheelbase (2400mm) version in 1960.  It has always been a highly desirable car, and when new was very popular with those in the entertainment business, as apart from James Coburn, the Italian tenor Mario del Monaco and the French film director (and one time husband of Brigitte Bardot) Roger Vadim were other high profile owners.  The model’s cult status was highlighted when a replica featured in the 1986 film ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, nearly twenty five years after it had ceased production.

The model wasn’t only a boulevard cruiser, it proved its potency on the race track too with class wins in the Sebring 12 Hours Race in 1959 and 1960 amongst the laurels gained. The American driver Bob Grossman was one of the most successful exponents in a 250 GT California in competition, with a fifth overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 partnered by Fernand Tavano, in a long wheelbase model, together with numerous good results in national races in the USA during 1959 and 1960 in the same car.

The car is available to view in our South Kensington showroom on Old Brompton Road so please contact us to arrange an appointment.

Email: Tim Kearns
Email: Owen Rothwell

Showroom:    +44 (0) 20 7341 6300
Out of Hours: +44 (0) 7824 362 228

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*Please note that the number plate pictured is not included.