A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider sold for €16,655,000 — approximately $19,520,000 — at RM Sotheby’s Monaco 2026 on 25 April at the Grimaldi Forum. The result set a new model record for a road-specification California Spider at public auction. Chassis 2955 GT, the 26th of 56 short-wheelbase examples ever built, cleared its €14,500,000–€16,500,000 estimate and broke a decade-long ceiling held by the ex-Alain Delon example Artcurial sold in 2015 for €16,300,000.
The Car — What Makes 2955 GT Different
Of the 56 SWB California Spiders Maranello produced, only 39 left the factory fitted with covered headlamps. This is one of them. Completed in September 1961 and finished in Bianco Saratoga over Nero leather, 2955 GT was delivered directly to Auto-Becker of Düsseldorf — Ferrari’s prominent German importer — and put straight onto the Auto-Becker stand at the 40th Annual IAA Frankfurt Motor Show. It has been a show car, in the most literal sense, since the day it was new.
The Colombo-designed 2,953 cc V-12 is matching-numbers throughout. Ferrari Classiche issued the Red Book in 2019, certifying the original engine, gearbox, rear axle, and coachwork. Documentation includes the German Fahrzeugbrief and Fahrzeugschein, a Marcel Massini history report, and a rare silver hardtop.
The Ownership Chain — Rome, Hollywood, Frankfurt
After Frankfurt, the Spider passed to its first private owner — Lebanese enthusiast André Budi-Medawar, who kept it in Rome. By 1965 it had crossed the Atlantic to Luigi Chinetti Motors, passing to Charles Hamill Jr. of Belleville, Illinois, before returning to Chinetti Motors and then landing with Bernard Stayman of Dayton, Ohio — who took Best Convertible at the FCA National Concours in Indianapolis in May 1966 — before the car passed, in 1969, to character actor Ken Mars of Granada Hills, California. Best known for Young Frankenstein and What’s Up Doc?, Mars held the car for three decades.
He sold it in January 2000 through brokers Rick Cole and Marty Yacoobian to auctioneer Craig Jackson. From Jackson it passed, in March 2000, to a Frankfurt-based collector — one of the founders of a world-famous wheel manufacturer — who commissioned an initial restoration by Carrozzeria Autosport and Bacchelli & Villa. Then, in July 2019, the consigning owner described in the RM Sotheby’s catalogue as “an international businessman” acquired 2955 GT and commissioned a second, definitive restoration by Dino Cognolato of Vigonza, Italy. That three-year refurbishment, completed in 2022, produced the current Blu Scuro over red leather presentation. The car made its post-restoration debut at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance showing just 2,447 kilometres since the rebuild.
Record Context — How Far the Ceiling Has Moved
Two comparable SWB 250 GTs had already been setting the table in early 2026. Chassis 1915 GT brought $16,727,110 at Rétromobile Paris in January. Chassis 1963 GT fetched $16,505,000 at Gooding Christie’s Amelia Island sale. Monaco cleared that consensus by roughly $3 million — an 18.5 percent premium over the prior transaction cluster.
The only California Spider ever to sell for more is the competition-specification 1961 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione, which made $25,305,000 at Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach in 2025. Among road cars, 2955 GT now sits alone at the top.
“This year’s Monaco auction was truly something special… crowned of course by the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider — quite possibly the most glamorous car ever made.” — Augustin Sabatié-Garat, Director of Sales EMEA, RM Sotheby’s
The Broader Sale — Monaco’s Biggest European Multi-Lot Result
The California Spider anchored a 77-lot sale that totalled €87,967,385 at a 90 percent sell-through rate. That surpassed RM Sotheby’s own €81 million Paris record, making Monaco the house’s highest-grossing multi-car auction ever held in Europe. At least 20 cars cracked seven figures.
Other highlights included a 2004 Ferrari Enzo in rare Argento Nürburgring — one of nine so finished — that hammered at €6,530,000 against a €4,900,000–€5,300,000 estimate. Also crossing the block: a Ferrari LaFerrari formerly owned by Jay Kay, a Porsche Carrera GT, a Bugatti EB110, a Bugatti Bolide, an AMG One, and two Lamborghinis. Eight of the top ten lots carried the Cavallino Rampante.
What to Watch
Whether Monaco’s $19.5 million print represents a new floor for covered-headlamp, matching-numbers SWB examples or a high-water mark driven by exceptional provenance will become clearer at Pebble Beach in August, where several significant Ferraris are expected to surface. For now, 2955 GT holds the title.
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