This gorgeous, £10.3m Ferrari 250 GT is up for sale

If you are inexplicably affluent, then we bring good news! Gooding & Company have announced that the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider pictured above will be going under the hammer at the Amelia Island auction in Florida next month.

However, if, like us, you are not inexplicably affluent, you’ll just have to gaze longingly at the bodywork and immerse yourself in its history instead.

The pristine machine comes with an estimate of $15-$17 million, having belonged to just three people since construction some 55 years ago.

Industrial designer Gianfranco Frattini was the first person to own the Ferrari, and while in his care it featured in the Italian film Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow alongside Hollywood actress Sophia Loren in 1963. Lucky thing.

It was bought by its second owner in June 1978, and then passed on to its current owner in 1985.

As the 22^nd of only 56 short wheelbase California Spiders produced, this model is made even rarer by its covered headlights; a sought after feature which appeared on 37 incarnations to roll out of the factory.

“We are thrilled to present this California Spider to our clients,” says Gooding & Company President David Gooding. “With only three owners from new and a rich and fascinating history, this covered-headlight SWB California Spider has never before been offered for public sale and is being presented for the first time outside of Italy.”

The word ‘exquisite’ springs to mind. Though with renowned coachbuilder Scaglietti behind the design, that’s not much of a surprise.

With bidding set to start at 11am EST on Friday 11 March, you have less than a month to cobble the funds together. Or simply sit back and watch the financial tug of war unfold. Barring a last-minute windfall, we’ll be doing the latter.

Images copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photo by Mathieu Heurtault.