2019 Gooding Pebble Beach Sale (Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Announcement)

A 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider (Estimate: $11,000,000 – $13,000,000) was announced as the lead car for for the Gooding Pebble Beach 2019 sale.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider (Estimate: $11,000,000 – $13,000,000), chassis 1055 GT — 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider © Gooding

The top car on offer at the Gooding 2019 Pebble Beach classic car auction is a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider. It comes with a whopping estimate of $11,000,000 – $13,000,000). It was the 11th of 50 LWB California Spider built. The Ferrari has a well-documented history that included some racing and is presented in a magnificent condition.

Gooding Pebble Beach Classic Car Auction 2019

Gooding and Company scheduled its 16th annual Pebble Beach classic car auction for 16 & 17 August 2019 at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center on the Monterey Peninsula in California, USA.

In 2019, Gooding earned $76,824,740 with a sell-through rate of 77% – 108 of 140 lots offered were sold. The average price was $711,340 per car with 17 cars sold for over a million dollar each.

The 1935 Duesenberg SSJ, chassis J-563 sold for $22,000,000 as the most-expensive American car ever sold at public auction, the most-expensive pre-war car, the most-expensive Duesenberg and the most-expensive car ever sold by Gooding & Company. © Gooding

In 2018, Gooding earned $116.5 million with an 84% sell-through rate with 123 of the 147 lots sold. The average price per car was $947,174 with 25 cars selling for above a million dollar and 23 world auction records set for models, including a new Duesenberg marque record.

In 2017, Gooding earned $91.5 million with sell-through rate of 81% – 110 of the 135 lots on offer sold. 22 cars achieved a million dollar with two of these over $10 million. A new marque record of $14,080,000 was set by a 1970 Porsche 917K that was used in the filming of Steve McQueen’s Le Mans.

In 2016, Gooding set a company record when $129.8 million was earned by selling 115 of 138 lots (83%). 26 cars achieved over a million dollar with four selling for over $10 million.

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

A 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider (Estimate: $11,000,000 – $13,000,000), chassis 1055 GT, was announced as the lead car for the Gooding Pebble Beach 2019 classic car auction. The estimate is well above the $9.5 million RM Sotheby’s result at Maranello 2017 and although it has seen some period racing it should sell for well below the around $18 million that full competition versions achieved in recent years.

In late 1957, Ferrari developed a new open 250 GT model for the booming North American market. Ferrari’s two most successful and influential dealers, Luigi Chinetti and John von Neumann, impressed upon the factory the need for a simple, dual-purpose 250 GT convertible. The idea was to develop a car that could be driven during the week and raced with success on the weekend.

The result was the California Spider, a high-performance 250 GT with striking coachwork by Carrozzeria Scaglietti. As its name suggested, the model was aimed at a very specific segment of Ferrari’s American clientele: young, moneyed enthusiasts who wanted a stylish thoroughbred sports car that was equally at home on road and track. Like other high-end European sports cars aimed at the American market, the California Spider featured a racy, swept-back windscreen, minimal interior appointments, bucket seats, and a lightweight folding top.

Between 1957 and 1963, Ferrari built just 106 California Spiders – 50 of the original long-wheelbase (LWB) version and 56 of the final short-wheelbase (SWB) variant. Today, the model remains one of the most famous and desirable Ferraris ever produced – a mechanical object of exceptional beauty and sophistication that has long captured the interest of connoisseurs.

The car on offer at Pebble Beach 2019, the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider (Estimate: $11,000,000 – $13,000,000), chassis 1055 GT, is the 11th California Spider built and one of a select group originally finished with the attractive and highly desirable covered-headlamp treatment. Delivered new to Luigi Chinetti Motors in 1959, and sold new to an attorney in Texas, this California Spider is among the few examples that raced in period, competing in SCCA events in Florida during 1962.

Chassis 1055 GT has a well-documented history and several notable owners, including Gerald Roush, founder of Ferrari Market Letter, and collectors Tony Wang and Hans Thulin. Keeping with the tradition of devoted Ferrari ownership, the current owner has kept the car under the finest care and recently entrusted it to the esteemed marque specialist Motion Products, Inc. for a complete, no-expense-spared restoration.

Presented in the gorgeous, period-correct color scheme of Grigio Vinovo with brown leather interior, this California Spider has captured a string of important awards at prestigious concours events. In 2018, it secured a Platinum Award at the Cavallino Classic, the Luigi Chinetti Memorial Award at the FCA National Meeting, and a Third in Class award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. Bolstering its outstanding show-quality presentation, 1055 GT is offered with a correct handbook set, tool kit, Ferrari Classiche Red Book, a history report compiled by marque historian Marcel Massini, as well as an impressive file of documentation that traces the unique history of this special 250 GT.

“In the world of vintage Ferraris, most would agree that the 250 GT California Spider is in a class of its own,” states David Gooding, President and Founder of Gooding & Company. “It is the quintessential open Ferrari, and this example exhibits highly desirable features including covered headlights, Classiche certification, numerous awards, and a unique and stunning color scheme.”

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