A Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder Broke A 20-Year Old Auction Record

What were you doing in 2008? For most of us, we were feeling the ill effects of the Great Recession, a financial collapse rooted in massive mortgage default rates that quickly made us reassess our financial futures and hope relief and consumer-protection-oriented legislation would arrive some way, somehow, and sooner than later. Still, on the high-end automotive auction front in May of that year, a certain record was broken that seemed incredibly out-of-touch with reality, even with all the canon that this particular lot possessed.

It was a black 1961 Ferrari 250 SWB California Spyder, 1 of 51, and sporting a 2.9-liter naturally aspirated V12 to command its teeny 94.5-inch wheelbase. It was once owned by actor James Coburn, known for his roles in "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape," among many others. This Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder broke a 20-year old auction record at one hell of a time in world history — for both the average buyer and the ultra-rich alike — which was held by a very rare Bugatti for the 23 years prior. This particular Spyder's auction set one hell of a precedent that's been eclipsed repeatedly since.

That very rare Bugatti was a 1-of-6 Bugatti "Kellner Coach" Royale, which sold for £5,500,000 ($9,867,000 at the time) at a Christie's auction at Royal Albert Hall in the United Kingdom in November of 1987 (via Classic and Sports Car). Ironically, it was built during the Great Depression in 1930, so one has to wonder if there's some kind of underlying connection between ultra-high-value cars built or sold during widespread economic despair.

But boy, those Brits had no idea what was in store for 2008 — the black Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder sold for a cool $10.9 million at an RM Sotheby's auction in Maranello, Italy. That may be only 5.7 million in 1987 dollars, but still, one hell of a sum. However, that still wasn't the previous biggest sum, which went to a '62 250 GTO that sold in 1990 for roughly $10.7 million with commission, though the buyer reportedly never paid for it. Interestingly, a very similar '62 250 GTO burst into flames at Goodwood a few years back — which was valued at an eye-drenching $70 million.

Eye-watering figures have been the main showpiece of any Ferrari with GT in its badge since, as yet another '62 250 GTO went for $48.4 million in 2018 at a RM Sotheby's Monterey auction. Even a much-newer (but still rare) '80s GTO fetched $11.5 million at Monterey earlier this year — one of our readership's favorite cars from the 1980s. 

It seems like that '61 convertible owned by James Coburn set a hell of a precedent for auction figures, showing that a little rarity mixed with a lot of rich folks with nothing better to do will continue to pump these cars' values to the stratosphere, through economic thick and thin.