Most of the events of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (which can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription) wouldn’t have unfolded if Matthew Broderick’s title character, Alan Ruck’s Cameron Frye and Mia Sara’s Sloane Peterson didn’t have a car to drive into downtown Chicago. Much to Cameron’s dismay, Ferris chose his best friend’s father’s red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder to make this happen. More than 35 years after Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’s theatrical released, someone has purchased the production’s Ferrari for over $300,000. There’s just one catch: they can’t actually drive it.
As reported by Fortune, the Ferrari used in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off sold at auction for $337,500 this past Saturday. Obviously that’s a large amount of money to drop on something that a lot of people don’t have, but remember that in the movie, Cameron tells Ferris that less than 100 of these types of Ferrari were made. So $337,500 probably sounds like it’s too low, right? Well, that’s because this person bought a Ferrari replica that can’t be driven, hence why they won’t be able to take it out on the road.
These days, the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder can sell for up to $15 million, but the car obviously fetched a big price back when Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was shooting. As the late director John Hughes revealed in the movie’s DVD commentary track as one of the movie’s behind-the-scenes facts, while an actual Ferrari was used for the insert shots, given that there’s that shocking moment towards the end when Cameron’s father’s Ferrari accidentally rolls out of its display room and crashes into the ravine below (one of the movie’s best moments), it was deemed too expensive to destroy one of the real deals.
As such, a number Ferrari replicas, both drivable and not, were made for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Another one of the non-drivable replicas sold in 2010 for just $10,000 at an auction in England, and one of the drivable replicas was auctioned off in 2020 for $396,000.
So now there’s a well-off Ferris Bueller’s Day Off fan who paid more than $337,500 for the privilege of having this Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder as part of their collection, but that’s where it ends. Had this person had the opportunity to spring for one of the drivable versions, you can be sure they would have had to pull out more pocket change for that acquisition. Still, at least this person can now say they own a prop from one of the best comedy movies to watch when you need cheering up.
If you’re interested in more Ferris Bueller’s Day Off material, read through our guide detailing what Matthew Broderick and the other stars are doing these days. Let’s also not forget that there’s a spinoff in development centered on the valets who take the Ferrari out for a joy ride while our core trio were exploring Chicago.
