Gooding Christie’s presented the opportunity to acquire the genesis of greatness when this car from 1957 came up for auction, as it was the initial prototype for the automotive manifestation of la dolce vita—the Ferrari 250 GT California Spider. The model was the collective brainchild of stateside Ferrari importers Luigi Chinetti and John von Neumann, who both new a refined droptop grand tourer would seduce the Golden State’s glitterati.
Chassis No. 0769 GT was given a 2,953 cc tipo 128C V-12, making about 217 hp, paired with a four-speed manual gearbox—all covered in coachwork by Scaglietti. Per the research done by the auction house and included in its lot description, the car was “completed on December 16, 1957, six months before the first production California Spiders." It ended up being used as the poster-car of sorts, featuring prominently in Ferrari’s marketing materials. Gooding Christie’s cites eight owners in its history, two race wins (the Puerto Rico Festival Race and Antilles de Diego Trophy, both in 1961), and numerous concours accolades. The latter include a class win at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, an honorable mention at the 2017 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, and class win at the Ferrari 70th Anniversary Concours that same year. It ended up selling for $235,000 below its low-end estimate.
From the article by Viju Mathew
