SWB: THE ULTIMATE CALIFORNIA SPIDER Ferrari achieved tremendous things with the 250 GT in the early 1950s, finding remarkable success in sports car competition with the LWB “Tour de France” and 250 TR models.

As was frequently the case in this era, the push to do even better came from abroad, specifically from John von Neumann, the California-based importer who had become a regular distributor for Ferrari sales on the West Coast.

Von Neumann proposed the idea for a true race-and-road car, an open Ferrari that could be driven to the track, raced in, and then driven home.

Official Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti supported the idea, and soon the California Spider appeared, with open coachwork designed and built by the legendary Sergio Scaglietti on the Tour de France berlinetta’s chassis.

Like his New York contemporary Max Hoffman, von Neumann had an eye for what American sportsmen wanted—he was one, after all—and the early California Spiders made a splash in GT competition, taking a ...