Besides Mia Sara (Sloan Peterson) and Jennifer Grey (Jeanie Bueller), the most beautiful creature in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that Ferris drives out of Cameron father’s unlocked garage, much to Cam’s chagrin.
A gorgeous vehicle, the ’61 Ferrari 250 GT from the film was Cameron father’s great love and passion – and was also a fake.
Built by Modena Design and Development, Cam’s dad’s Ferrari was actually a replica model called the GT Spyder California which director John Hughes decided to use because it would be substantially less expensive but still look great on camera.
He wasn’t wrong.
Tasked with giving the studio a trio of GT Spyder Californias for the movie (two for driving, one for being destroyed) less than two months before filming was set to commence, Mark Goyette and Neil Glassmoyer of Modena had a lot of work to do in a short amount of time.
You wouldn’t know it from their finished products, as the fiberglass-bodied replica cars they created expertly incorporated the Ferrari’s windshield, turn signals, grille, and fender vents.
Powered by a ’63 V8 capable of delivering 195 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, the two driveable cars Goyette and Glassmoyer built had different transmissions because Broderick reportedly couldn’t handle a manual.
Sadly for them, that wasn’t the only issue Goyette and Glassmoyer dealt with after building the trio of cars for the film.
Since they never secured the rights to use a mock-up of Ferrari’s prancing horse badge on the car, they became one of several reproduction carmakers the Italian marque brought to court over the sale of kit Ferraris. To avoid legal fees, Glassmoyer and Goyette were forced to stop making their most famous creation.
However, that wasn’t an issue for the Smithsonian Historical Vehicle Association Hall of Fame as they made the Modena GT Spyder California the 22nd inductee into their HOF in April of this year.
Now, after nine months of renovation from Glassmoyer himself, one of the two cars that Cameron didn’t send flying out of a glass window is crossing the auction block next month.
Being delivered with Bueller memorabilia including Matchbox cars, the original sales brochure, and a movie poster signed by Glassmoyer and Broderick, the car is expected to fetch $250,000 to $300,000.
To learn more about the car, the auction, and how to bid, head to Mecum’s website.
If you buy it, every day will be a day off.
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