Ask anyone what he or she remembers best of all from the 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the reply will be instant. The thing is, the hero car is not a real Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, but a replica of 11 built by an outfit called Modena Design.
John Hughes, the director, producer, and writer of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, didn’t know what car to use in the movie prior to filming. Word on the street is a Porsche 930 Turbo would have been the car if not for Hughes learning about Modena Design. A replica of the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder was chosen instead of the German car dubbed the Widowmaker.
The thing is, the replicar proved to be hideously unreliable during filming, which may have made Hughes think twice about his decision. Then again, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was the movie that brought popularity to one of the most sought-after Prancing Horses ever made. A proper example of the 250 GT California Spyder went for $18.5 million in 2015, so you get the idea how revered this thing is in car collectors circles. The car featured in this story isn’t the real deal, but a replica manufactured by the same company that made the car in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Listed on Craigslist for $145,000, the replicar here boasts a fiberglass body shell and a tube frame. Under the hood, you won’t find an old school Ferrari V12, but a 289 cu.in. (4.7-liter) Ford Windsor V8 engine connected to a manual transmission. The interior isn’t too shabby, albeit the pedal covers and the red piping on the leather seats are horrendous. With two owners from new, is this lookalike worthy of its price tag?
If it were my money, I would get a Ferrari 430. Or 10 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles to start my own rental company.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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