
Courtesy RM Auctions
A 1961 250 GT California Spyder, once owned by actor James Coburn

Courtesy RM Auctions
A 1960 246 Dino Sport model with an estimate of 3.4 million to 4.1 million ($5.3-6.4 million)
MARANELLO, Italy—On May 18 some 40
rare Ferraris are hitting the block in
RM Auctions second annual
Ferrari
Leggende e Passione auction, held
in conjunction with
Sotheby’s at the
auto company’s headquarters, in
Maranello, Italy. Among the lots are
two of the most desirable cars of the
late 1950s and early ’60s: a pair of
250 GT California Spyder convertibles, one formerly owned by the
actor
James Coburn. If you’ve seen
the movie
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,
you’ll recognize it (the thoroughly
wrecked film version in red was, fortunately,
a replica). Last August, during
California’s Pebble Beach Week, a
1963 Ferrari coupe once owned by
Coburn’s pal
Steve McQueen sold for
$2,310,000—roughly four times its
expected value—and RM/Sotheby’s
hopes Coburn’s black ’61 roadster will
get a similar star-power boost. It carries
a high estimate of €3.7 million
($5.7 million), versus the 1959 model’s
€3 million ($4.7 million) valued
price tag—a gap due not only to its
Hollywood provenance but also to its
shorter wheelbase.
"Ferrai Capital" originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's May 2008 Table of Contents.