Ferrari 250 GT California Spider: Most Expensive Auction Prices

The highest price ever paid for a Ferrari 250 GT California Spider at public auction is $25.3 million for a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione, sold at the Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach auction in 2025. Prices around $17 million for SWB versions and $8 million for LWB cars are more common.

Prices for Ferrari 250 GT California Spiders surged during the Ferrari market boom around 2014–2016 and have since stabilized. Most Short Wheelbase (SWB) examples sell for around $16 million to $18 million, while Long Wheelbase (LWB) cars typically trade for $6 million to $10 million, depending on specification and provenance. Competition-specification cars can achieve far higher prices, including the current auction model record price of $25,305,000 paid for a 1961 SWB Competizione sold at Pebble Beach in 2025. Below is the list of the top prices paid for the most expensive Ferrari 250 GT California Spiders sold at public auction since 2008.

Key Facts – Ferrari 250 GT California Spider Auction Prices

• Highest price: $25,305,000 – 1961 SWB Competizione at Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach 2025
• Second-highest price: $18,649,760 – barnfind 1961 SWB at Artcurial Paris 2015
• First sale above $10 million: 2008 — RM Sotheby’s Maranello
• Production Years: 1957 to 1963
• Production total: 106 — 50 long-wheelbase (LWB) and 56 short-wheelbase (SWB) cars.
• Typical Price Range: $16 to $18 million for SWB and $7 to $9 million for LWB California Spiders. Considerably more for Competizione cars.

At public auctions, Ferrari 250 GT California Spider prices typically range from $6 million for LWB versions to around $18 million for SWB cars, with rare competition models selling for far more.

Record Prices for Ferrari 250 GT California Spiders at Public Auction (2008 to 2026)

The table below lists the highest auction prices for Ferrari 250 GT California Spider models since 2008. Both Short Wheelbase (SWB) and Long Wheelbase (LWB) versions are included, along with the chassis numbers and auction details.

Ferrari 250 GT California Spider Price Trend Summary

At public auctions, Ferrari 250 GT California Spider prices typically range from $6 million for LWB versions to around $18 million for SWB cars, with rare competition models selling for far more.

Ferrari California Spider prices at public auctions exceeded $10 million for the first time in 2008, climbed fast during the classic Ferrari market boom around 2014 to 2017, and remained very stable since for SWB versions but slipped back for LWB cars with big swings for competition-specification cars (due to small numbers).

• 2008–2012: Early modern Ferrari boom with top SWB prices ranging from $5.1 to $10.9 million and LWB Competizione reaching $11.3 million
• 2014–2017: Massive classic Ferrari market expansion with SWB sales jumping to $15 and $18 million while LWB cars peaked at below $10 million. Two unrepeatable LWB Competizione results around $18 million.
• 2020–2026: Stable mature market with SWB mostly still in the same $16 and $18 million range, while LWB models slipped to $5.5 to $8 million. Dramatic correction of LWB Competition prices.

Just over 30 (of 106 produced) Ferrari California Spiders have been sold at public auction since 2008, of which 15 achieved results above $10 million. Of course, many more could have traded privately at undisclosed prices.

→ The next car to test the market is the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider by Scaglietti, chassis 2955 GT, estimate €14,500,000 – €16,500,000 ($16,830,000 – $19,151,000), on offer at RM Sotheby’s Monaco auction in April 2026.

Ferrari 250 GT California Spider Auction Prices (2008-2026)

In 2008, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider became the first car ever to sell for over $10 million (nominal) when it was bought by British broadcast personality Chris Evans at an RM Auctions sale in Maranello, Italy.

It took four years before the next $10 million result for a California Spider, but since then, bids below $10 million for an SWB California Spider have rarely been considered. In the past decade, only one has sold for less than $10 million at public auction.

Prices and trends for the short-wheelbase (SWB) and long-wheelbase (LWB) are quite distinct, with results for competition cars of both versions often outliers. While SWB prices have been fairly stable in the past five years, LWB prices are generally weaker, and LWB Competition prices have plummeted.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Price Trend

The short-wheelbase version of the Ferrari 250 GT California Spider has always been the more expensive and more desirable car, but SWB prices have increased far more rapidly in recent years than those of the LWB. Before the global classic Ferrari price boom around 2014 to 2016, SWB and LWB California Spiders were not priced far apart.

Before 2014, SWB prices were mostly below $10 million, but appreciated rapidly to well above $15 million from 2014 to 2016. Since then, prices have been stable, mostly within the $16 to $18 million range.

Despite huge attention on record Ferraris, the California Spider market is actually remarkably stable. The difference between the highest and lowest SWB sales in the last five years is only about $1.5M, and for the last 12 years, only around $2 million, which is unusually tight for cars at this price level. (Excluding two outliers.)

Two notable outliers were both sold in the same Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach 2025 classic car auction:

• $25,305,000 — the model-record 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione is the only one of the two SWB competition-spec cars offered at auction in the past two decades. (This was the first public sale of 2383GT since the mid-1960s).
• $7,550,000 — a post-hammer deal and the lowest price for a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider since 2009. (The same car was a no-sale with a $10.6 million bid at Bonhams Scottsdale 2017 and seems a less-than-perfect open-headlights example.)

The most expensive non-competition SWB is the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, once owned by Alain Delon, from the barn-find Baillon Collection, sold at Paris Artcurial 2015. This $18,649,760 result was achieved at the top end of the interest in rare barn-finds — enthusiasm for such very expensive-to-restore cars has certainly cooled in recent years.

Outlook for Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Auction Prices

The huge appreciation in values, more than doubling in the decade before 2015, has not continued since. The market seemed to have plateaued, but it remains strong. While a result below $10 million remains exceptional, classic Ferraris have not increased in value significantly in recent years (or months), unlike modern hypercars.

California Spiders are blue-chip, buy-and-hold classic cars. Of the 15 SWB cars sold at public auction since 2008, only one was a repeat sale. The 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider sold for $16.5 million at Gooding Christie’s Amelia Island 2026 achieved a more modest $4,950,000 at Gooding Scottsdale 2009.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Price Trends

Auction prices for the long-wheelbase California Spider failed to increase at the same rate as the long-wheelbase cars. Where prices before the classic car boom of 2014-2016 were only marginally below those of SWB versions, the typical LWB result stayed between $6 and $8 million, roughly half the value of SWB cars.

The 2012 Pebble Beach $11,275,000 LWB sale (1639GT — the only non-competition alloy version) briefly placed LWB prices ahead of SWB values, but this situation disappeared once the market strongly repriced SWB cars during the 2014–2016 Ferrari boom.

Outlook for Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Auction Prices

Recent prices for LWB cars were often below $6 million, while the trend in the years leading up to 2015 aimed for $9 million.

As for the SWB, repeat sales are rare, with the following two cases showing only a small nominal price increase:

• The 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider, chassis 1055GT, sold for $8,800,000 in 2014 and for $9,905,000 in 2019.
• The prototype, 1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Prototipo, chassis 0769GT, sold for $6.6 million in 2012 and for $7,265,000 in 2025.

Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competition Price Trend

The LWB Competizione versions command significantly higher prices, but caution is advised. Only three LWB Competizione cars were sold at auction in the last 15 years or so.

The LWB Competizione model record holder, 1603 GT, sold for $18,150,000 in 2016 — a solid increase from the $7,260,000 it achieved in 2010. Its most noteworthy result was 5th overall at the 1960 12-Hours of Sebring.

The cheapest and most recent result, $9,465,000 (2025), was for the same car, 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, chassis 1451GT, that sold for $17,990,000 in 2017. ). More worryingly for owners is that the car is a particularly good example: this California Spider was driven by Bob Grossman and Fernand Tavano to fifth overall at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. (It previously sold for $4,980,000 at RM Monterey 2007).

The only other competition car sold recently is the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, chassis 1235GT, for $10,840,000 at Pebble Beach 2021. The car with a distinct Italian flag livery was one of the very few originally delivered in Europe and accounted for most of the LWB California Spider’s in-period racing experience in Europe.

Outlook Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competition Auction Prices

Competizione cars are rare and are seldom offered at auction. The two results in 2016 and 2017 were at the top of the market, with the 2025 result showing a sharp correction, even below the less-raced European car. A top price requires at least two buyers interested in the same car.

Competizione cars are likely to remain more expensive than the standard LWB versions, but are unlikely to reach the dizzying heights of the mid-2010s boom.

Best Auctions and Auctioneers for Selling Ferrari California Spiders

Most of the California Spiders were sold at the Monterey / Pebble Beach auctions in California, USA, but there have also been some very good results in Paris and at Florida auctions. California Spiders are currently the auction record holders for sales at Pebble Beach and Amelia Island, and the second-most expensive car ever sold at Amelia Island, Maranello, and Kissimmee.

If I were in the market for selling a California Spider, I’d speak to David Gooding first. Around half of all Ferrari California Spider results since 2008 were achieved at Gooding or Gooding Christie’s auctions.

Ferrari 250 GT California Spider Model History

The California Spider was specifically designed for the US market. Ferrari’s importer in the United States, Luigi Chinetti, and John von Neumann, a Ferrari racer from California, are usually credited with convincing Ferrari to build this sporty roadster with coachwork by Scaglietti in addition to the more luxurious cabriolet by Pinin Farina, which was aimed more at the European market

Between 1957 and 1963, Ferrari built just 106 California Spiders: 50 examples of the original long-wheelbase (LWB) model, and 56 of the short-wheelbase (SWB) variant (introduced in 1959).

Although Ferrari built a small number of Competizione cars, the California Spider was not really intended for racing. The structural reinforcement required by the roadster design made the California Spiders around 100 kg heavier than the comparable Berlinettas.

• Of the 50 LWB California Spiders built, only about 10 were prepared new from the factory with competition features. Ferrari built only nine alloy-bodied LWB California Spiders, of which eight were Competizione versions.
• Of the 56 SWB California Spiders, only two were competition versions. The only SWB Competizione offered at auction in the past two decades is the model record holder.

The few notable California Spider racing results include class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring in both 1959 and 1960, as well as an excellent fifth overall at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. This LWB Competizione (1451GT), driven by Bob Grossman and Fernand Tavano, held the record.

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