www.QV500.com - Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder Part 1: LWB
 

The 1958 250 California Spyder brochure		 It is widely known that the concept for Maranello's immortal 250 GT California was devised by Jon von Neumann who owned Ferrari Representatives of Hollywood. His idea was for a convertible version of the 250 GT LWB Tour de France and Neumann was fully supported by North American Ferrari impresario, Luigi Chinetti. Enzo Ferrari too was convinced and the new model became designated California in homage to the market where it was envisaged most examples would be sold. These 250 GT California's were constructed to an abundance of alternative specifications and it is unlikely that any two were wholly identical.
   
We can separate the model into those examples constructed on Ferrari's long wheelbase chassis from the 250 GT Tour de France and later models that featured the short wheelbase chassis from the 250 GT SWB Berlinetta. Both Tour de France and SWB Berlinetta's were competition machines used to great effect around the globe, California's ranking alongside these great cars as part of an elite group of ultra desirable Ferrari's. In addition to having long and short wheelbase California's, further differentiation depended upon the particular chassis, engine and body combination. Meanwhile, it was decided from the outset that the most suitable chassis for the California would initially be Ferrari's Tipo 508 C frame (hence C Series), as used concurrently for the aforementioned Tour de France Berlinetta's (and Series I 250 GT Pinin Farina Cabriolet's). A welded tubular steel chassis with a wheelbase of 2600mm, the frame was traditional Ferrari – simple, rigid and reliable and can be regarded today as a work of art in itself. Together with the C Series chassis, a standard single overhead camshaft, inside plug, Tipo 128 C engine was used, again sourced from the 250 GT Tour de France. Displacement of this 60° V12 was 2953cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 73mm x 58.8mm respectively, maximum power of the wet-sump unit being recorded as 240bhp when running a 9.2:1 compression ratio and three Weber 36 DCL 3 carburettors.
 

LWB California Spyder chassis 1501 GT		 Capable of a top speed in excess of 135mph and accelerating to sixty in around 6.5 seconds (depending upon gear ratios), the 250 GT California had all the necessary requirements for a hugely desirable automobile. Around this time during the late fifties, Ferrari were working very closely with Pinin Farina but it was actually Scaglietti of Modena that designed and built bodywork for the California. They used steel save for the doors, bonnet and boot lid (all fabricated from aluminium), but while much credit rightly goes to Scaglietti, the Modenese carrozzeria borrowed heavily from period Pinin Farina renderings although the overall effect was more rakish than the Turin designers work.
   
A continuous line from the headlights back to the curved rear wing gave Scaglietti's design effortless simplicity while details like the ovoid front grille and rear wings raised above the deck lid lent the California just the right balance of style and aggression. For the prototype, Scaglietti used more or less the same interior components as those found in the concurrent Tour de France Berlinetta. However, subsequent examples were all completed with fixtures and fittings often unique to the California and, in many cases, unique to one particular chassis. All though combined the essential period Ferrari ingredients of a wood rimmed and aluminium spoked Nardi steering wheel, the restrained use of leather and carpeting and a crackle black dash. None were originally finished with an open gate transmission, some early examples having their carpeting substituted for simple black rubber mats. The prototype California (0769 GT) was completed in late 1957 but took some six months to develop into a satisfactory machine, this car subsequently being sold to George Arents (business partner of Luigi Chinetti) who, on the East Coast of America, tested and raced the car in local events. The first production 250 California was completed by Scaglietti towards the end of June 1958 and delivered to Chinetti in New York shortly afterwards.
 

LWB California Spyder chassis 1501 GT		 It was not long, however, before further revisions were implemented and after the completion of nine steel-bodied California's on the Tipo 508 C chassis with corresponding Tipo 128 C engines (including the prototype), the tenth California built (chassis 1011 GT) arrived with a Tipo 128 D engine and 508 D chassis (hence its D Series nomenclature). The D Series chassis differed to the C only in it's minor relocation of spring mounting points and some additional chassis bracing to improve rigidity. Tipo 128 D engines retained the inside plug set up of the 128 C, the only changes of any note being a strengthened crankshaft and con-rods. Bizzarrely, it was not until December of 1958 (18 months after the first prototype was completed), that the 250 GT California was then given it's formal debut.
   
Displayed at Ferrari's Annual Press Conference, chassis 1085 GT (a competition car, see Part 2 for more information) most obviously featured an all new open headlight nose treatment that was clean, elegant and stylish. Meanwhile, another body variation was made available in early 1959 when a glassfibre hardtop fabricated by Scaglietti could be specified. But despite having been an exceedingly elegant addition, only a few owners took the option up and today, these rare components are much sought after. Later on in the year, October to be precise, the first 250 GT California to be fitted with Dunlop disc brakes was constructed on chassis 1497 GT following trial runs on the Grand Prix machinery of the period. Then three street 250 GT California's were subsequently fitted with hot Tipo 128 F, outside plug, twelve-port engines that were also used in a couple of Competizione models (again see the next section). It was not uncommon for 250 GT California customers to request some competition components to be fitted to their road car – anything from hot cams to a complete Competizione specification engine having been available. The best way to determine the exact specification of a particular California is to consult the original Ferrari build sheets as these will illustrate exactly what needs to be known. The long wheelbase 250 GT California continued in production until the spring of 1960.
 

An open headlight version of the long wheelbase California Spyder