Mario Bernardi - Klassische Automobile


Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

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Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

Completed:

1959


Originally delivered:

USA

Original colour:

red

Original interior:

black


Comments:

This beautiful California Spider we are proud to offer is the 11 th of 49 long

wheelbase cars made. Its history is well known from the beginning having had in

its early days a couple of owners which are today part of the Ferrari community.

In 1972 it was owned by Gerald Roush who is one of the honest US historians we

know of and the publisher of the Ferrari Market Letter. Later it went through the

known Ferrari dealership FAF Motorcars Atlanta to Ron Spangler and then to

Stanley Nowak. Stanley is for sure one of the most knowledgeable Ferrari guys

on the planet having also published books about Ferrari. He owned # 1055 in

1983 until 1985. Up from 1985 it has been for three years part of one of the

most interesting Ferrari collections on the East coast at Anthony Wang. In 1988

it went to Sweden to the Hans Thulin collection and then for six years again back

to the US to James George in 1992 who commissioned a complete nut and bolt

restoration to the highest possible standard. We have the complete photo

documentation about the work which has been carried out at European Auto

Sales in California. We have an extraordinary file of photos which will exceed at

least easily more than 500 photos of each step of the restoration. It took two

years to have it perfect again. On the photos it is easy to recognize that the car

came in its original condition never having had any signs of accidents.

James George sold it in 1996 to Bruce Lustman/Southport,CT,USA and he sold it

in 1998 to the last and current German owner.


It will be difficult to find a better and more interesting LWB California on the

planet. It is the milestone having all the new improvements.


It is the 11 th car built and it the very first car which received the more improved

and new 508 D frame. The factory realized that the 508 C frame which has been

used on the first ten cars wasn't stiff enough. So this California received all the

new improvements which combines the frame 508 D, the gearbox which also

came new on this car as the Tipo 508 D and the engine type 128 D including the

bigger valves and also the bigger exhaust manifolds. There have been another

couple of changes in the engine which might be to difficult to list.

So # 1055 is therefore a very special item in the Ferrari history and one of the

most interesting LWB California Spider in existence because it is somehow the

first special one.


The amazing fact is that it does have all the very rare original items as its

original matching number engine # 1055, its original 508 D gearbox and the

original 508 D rear end. The car has been restored on this base having a

wonderful original California Spider in perfect condition.


Calculating all the facts SN # 1055 engine # 1055 is definitely one of the most

interesting, most original, well restored cars out of a production of 49 cars.

There are two cars completely lost. There are another 7 cars not having their

original engines anymore. And there are the first 10 cars not having the

improvements of the later cars. So in the end we have a choice of only appr. 30

cars which seem to be right. This is definitely one of the best 5 cars in existence

having had a complete and known history over the last 50 years


The new frame is stiffer and safer, the gearbox is cast alloy and the engine

does have much more torque and is much more reliable due to some changes

of the oil linkages.





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