An alloy-bodied classic Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione will be headline lot at RM Sotheby’s ‘Icons’ sale in New York 6 December. This classic Ferrari claimed fifth overall at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A unique classic Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione
The North American Racing Team (NART) entered three Ferraris at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, and this is one of them. The other two were a 250 Testa Rossa and a 250 GT LWB Berlinetta). The fabled NART team was formed by Luigi Chinetti. He was one of the major players in the US sports car racing scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was a highly successful racing driver in his own right. And the official Ferrari distributor for the US East Coast.
The 250 GT LWB California Spider, chassis 1451 GT, was the second of just eight California Spiders bodied in aluminum and built to full competizione specifications. It was driven at Le Mans by owner Bob Grossman. Grossman was a successful sports car dealer based in Rockland County, New York.
This Ferrari was barely finished when it arrived at Le Mans
The car left the factory just five days before Le Mans. It arrived with a flash of paint covering the primer and unfinished seats covered with rags. In was both Grossman and the Ferrari’s very first outing at the Circuit de la Sarthe. He and co-driver Fernand Tavano finished fifth overall and third in their class.
After Le Mans, 1451 GT was properly finished in metallic silver and shipped to Grossman’s home in New York. He immediately returned the car to the track, racing in SCCA events at Thompson, Bridgehampton and the Watkins Glen Grand Prix before shipping it to Nassau for Speed Week, where it achieved first overall in the Memorial Trophy race.
Several US-based owners and several awards
The California Spider left Grossman’s care after the 1960 season. Several American owners then owned it, ending up with Jon Masterson of California. Masterson commissioned a complete restoration. The restoration on this classic Ferrari earned the car first in class honors at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car returned to Pebble Beach in 1994. It then ran in the Colorado Grand, and raced at the Monterey Historics on four separate occasions.
Its current owner bought it in 2007. Ferrari specialists Motion Products restored the The Classiche-certified California Spider in 2011, returning the car to its original Le Mans livery. The restoration then earned 1451 GT a platinum award at the 2011 Cavallino Classic. It is already entered into a number of concours and historic races for 2018, including Le Mans Classic.
The estimation on this California Spider is at (14,000,000 to ) 17,000,000. The sale takes place at Sotheby’s Manhattan HQ. More details on the RM Sotheby’s website here.
