A replica of the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California will soon go under the hammer at the Bonhams Amelia Island Auction on March 2, 2023. This is one of the four cars made for the classic movie Ferris’ Bueller’s Day Off.
Replica Ferrari 250 GT California : Why was it made?
Many people who can’t afford the real deal go for replica cars. However, the story of his particular Ferrari 250 GT California is very interesting. Hollywood Director John Hughes was in charge of the cult movie Ferris’ Bueller’s Day Off. However due to budget restrictions, it was definitely not possible to purchase a real Ferrari at the time of filming. Infact, in one of the scenes, the car was smashed through a window while in another scene, a valet is seen driving the car off and getting some air time. Hence they contacted California-based Modena Design and Development to come up with a solution. The company made three driveable cars while one with just the body shell without an engine was made for the window-crash scene.
Meanwhile, the car which went through a window was later rebuilt back in 1980. This model sold at an eye watering price of US$ 337,500 in December 2022. Meanwhile, this particular example, which is in a running condition, was acquired by a doctor based in Los Angeles in lieu of payment from a Paramount employee.
Internals of the replica Ferrari 250 GT California
This car is a very good copy of the real car. Infact, the fibreglass car could easily sell in auction for around US$ 500,000. That said, the car comes with a 5.0-litre Ford V8 motor good for just 165 HP. Modena Design configured this car with an automatic transmission as lead action Matthew Broderick was not able to drive a manual transmission. The good folks at Modena Design and Development went ahead and added a gate on the gear shifter. Hence, upon a glance, it appears that Ferrari replica is configured with a manual gearbox.
This particular model does come with a paperwork trail. Hence it is more or less confirmed that it was used for the driving scenes of the film. The owner of this car expects a good price for this rare car at the auction. All in all thanks to its history as well as the fact that this replica is pretty rare commodity. Hence it would be a rare occurrence of a kit / replica car going for more than an actual Ferrari.
Source : CarScoops
