One of the most iconic Ferraris of all time is the 250 GT California Spider, a U.S.-focused droptop that had race car underpinnings wrapped in stunning bodywork. Popular with movie stars and car enthusiasts alike — and made infamous by “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” in 1986 — only 106 of the 250 GT California were made between 1957 and 1963. Much rarer, not nearly as well-known but I think even better looking is the Ferrari 365 California that came a few years later, and one is going up for auction in Monterey next month.
Ferrari launched the 365 California Spyder at the 1966 Geneva Salon, and it would end up being Ferrari’s last limited-edition model of the vintage era. It was an amalgamation of the earlier Californias, the 410 Superamerica and the 500 Superfast, using the 4.4-liter V12 engine and chassis from the 330 GT 2+2. Ferrari only built 14 of the 365 California over the span of 18 months, making it the rarest open-top Ferrari.
The 365 California was penned by Tom Tjaarda for Pininfarina, and RM Sotheby’s describes the car as being the highest watermark for Pininfarina-designed Ferrari enthusiasts. It really is a spectacular thing, long and low with a raked-back windshield, sweeping haunches and a Kamm tail. The front features not only a covered headlight at the front of each fender, but also a smaller pop-up driving light inboard on the nose. The taillights are interesting too, with an eyebrow-like ridge shape and metal trim above them.
By far the coolest design detail are the door handles. Aside from the Pininfarina badge, the only piece of ornamentation along the 365 California’s sides are chrome spears that are sent into a scalloped-out section of the bodywork, a detail first seen on the 1965 Ferrari 206 Dino Speciale concept car. That spear is the door handle; a small section of the spear is cut out so your hand can grip it and pull to open.
This particular 365 California, chassis number 9935, is the ninth one built. It was ordered new by Waldorf Leasing on behalf of Nancy Tewksbury, a Los Angeles resident who already had a 275 GTS. The California’s Bianco Molitan white leather was commissioned to match her 275, and it was paired with Rosso Cina paint, a white roof and red carpets. Options included an upgraded Bendix fuel pump, air conditioning and a passenger headrest. She only owned the California for a couple of months before selling it to a man in Detroit, after which the car went through a few owners.
In 1973 this California was purchased by Dr. Donald Grove, a physicist at Princeton University who daily drove the car and did many of his own repairs. Dr. Grove sent the car to The MotorcarCompany of Cranbrook, New Jersey for a total restoration, and he kept it until at least 1998. In 2004 the car was sold to a Florida dealer and then in 2006 to the current owner, who had it refurbished again by Paul Russell & Company. That restoration “addressed every mechanical and cosmetic element,” including returning the car to its factory color scheme. Ferrari’s Classiche division authenticated the car in 2013.
Now, this 1967 Ferrari 365 California Spyder’s next owner could be you, as it’s going up for auction in just a few weeks as part of RM Sotheby’s Monterey Car Week sale. The auction house estimates it’ll go for between $2,750,000 to $3,250,000, but with vintage Ferraris, you never know when a bidding war will start.
