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Multimillion-dollar Ferraris line up for Pebble Beach

Wherever high-value classic cars are being sold, you can bet that vintage Ferraris will be topping the list. Especially at Pebble Beach. And that's precisely the auction for which Gooding & Company has lined up a trio of multi-million-dollar examples. Arguably the most enticing (and sure to fetch the highest price) of them all is a classic red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, complete with the highly-coveted covered headlights – just like the one in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Chassis number 3095 GT is one of just 37 made in this configuration. It's been fully documented and certified, but not restored. This is the first time this particular example will be offered in the United States, and Gooding expects it will fetch around $17 million - placing it at the high end of the Sports Car Market database of prices paid for 250s of any kind. Joining the California Spider is a striking 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica – the fastest road-going sports car of its time with a top speed in excess of 150 miles per hour. Painted in metallic grey with a contrasting dark red roof and red leather interior, this Series II coupe was purchased by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. It went with his wife following their divorce, and was awarded first in class at Pebble Beach in 1978. It's projected to raise between five or six million in financial scholarships, potentially eclipsing any record for Superamericas to date. Finally, in what could be a footnote only in this rarefied company, is a 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast that boasts similarly lofty provenance, having been delivered new to Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. In stunning dark blue with red leather, chassis 6049 SA is anticipated to sell for over $3 million (over a million more than any Superfast yet) when the gavel drops at the Concours d'Elegance next month. Gooding & Company Announces Multiple Show-Stopping Ferraris Including a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider to Headline Pebble Beach Auctions This quintessential open-air Ferrari is expected to set record-breaking numbers when it crosses the block this August SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 14, 2015) – Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance®, is pleased to announce the addition of three unparalleled classic Ferraris to its sale in August – a 1961 250 GT SWB California Spider, a 1957 410 Superamerica Series II Coupe, and a 1965 500 Superfast.

Ferrari Roma platform to underpin Purosangue SUV, as product roadmap takes shape

To create the Roma, Ferrari started with the platform used for the Portofino convertible. Engineers strengthened and lightened the architecture and made it modular, so that it will support the company's range of front-engined vehicles included in CEO Louis Camilleri's near-term product roadmap of 15 new vehicles over the next three years. Auto Express reports one of those products will be the Purosangue SUV – or FUV, Ferrari Utility Vehicle if you heed the carmaker's marketers – expected to debut in 2021 before going on sale in 2022 or 2023. The breadth of possibility built into the platform means it can swallow Ferrari's range of V8 and V12 engines, as well as the coming V6, plus plug-in hybrid equipment and all-wheel drive mechanicals.  Although observers figure a V12 Purosangue will grace the lineup eventually, models with smaller engines braced with hybrid assistance are expected first. The V12, in fact, is unlikely to get a hybrid form if Ferrari can help it, the brand's marketing manager saying, "To be honest, electrifying a V12 means creating, very probably, a heavy and big car. So electrification ideally should be coupled with smaller engines." Absent Ferrari's righteous 6.5-liter V12, Ferrari's head of technology says there will be other ways the vehicle codenamed "175" distinguishes itself from V8-powered super-SUV competition, but wouldn't clarify what those ways are. We'll guess the people-hauler slots into the company's GT vehicle classification alongside the GTC4Lusso, Portofino, and Roma. In the next decade, the GT category grows with a new supercar that marks "the return of an elegant model" cued off classic, mid-20th-century Ferrari Gran Turismos, as well as a battery-electric car after 2025. The Sport Range includes the 812Superfast and 812 GTS, 488 and 488 Pista, and SF90 Stradale. The Icona line kicked off with the Monza SP1 and SP2, and will expand with "timeless design[s] of iconic Ferraris reinterpreted with innovative materials and state of the art technologies." One-offs like the F12 TRS, SP12 EC and SP38 form the Special Series. The carmaker's entire range will be split across two modular platforms, one for front-engined placement, one mid-engined. At the pointy end of the product roadmap, it's thought Ferrari's already begun development of its LaFerrari successor.

Ferrari vs. Ferrari: Cut convertibles unloved by collectors?

The New York Times' Wheels blog has a really interesting story on a pair of Ferraris that are set to be auctioned off in Monterey during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. While the two cars are similar on the surface, their differing histories and Ferrari's attitude towards one of them has led to a sort of experimental auction process.
On the one hand, we have one of ten 1967 275 GTB/4 NART Spiders, in the classic Rosso Corsa and appearing at RM Auctions and seen above. On the other, we have a Fly Yellow version that started life as a 1965 275 GTB Coupe, and was converted into a NART Spider. Called a "cut" car, this particular replica is one of about 100 GTB Coupes that were converted into convertibles to satiate the climbing demand for ultra-rare Spiders.
This will mark one of the first times that an original NART Spider will go toe to toe with a replica of itself at auction, and will answer a number of questions about just how important provenance is in the collector car world. Head on over to The Times blog for the full story.