Chris Evans buys Ferrari 250 GT California for £5m

By Tim Pollard

Motor Shows

19 May 2008 10:36

The ginger motormouth is a well known fan of scarlet sports cars, but even we were surprised when UK broadcaster Chris Evans splashed out £5 million on an immaculate 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder.

Evans blew €7,040,000 on the black sports car, the thirteenth of just 56 built. It was the inspiration for Ferrari's latest 2+2 GT, the new California unveiled in May 2008.

The car was sold at this weekend's second annual Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event at Maranello, the specialist auction of all things Ferrari and Maserati. Evans's new toy was once owned by the actor James Coburn.

Weird Ferrari trinkets alert!

The auction, hosted by RM Auctions and Sothebys, is a fascinating event where you can pick up all manner of Italian auto memorabilia. Other intriguing entries at the auction included (estimated prices in brackets):

• Ferrari 250 V12 engine (£23,400 - £31,200)
• 2007 season F1 carbonfibre engine cover (£14,000 - £15,600)
• Ferrari 348 engine display table (£3900 - £5500)
• 1950s Ferrari factory engine test bench (£23,400 - £31,200)

Just goes to show that the credit crunch hasn't bitten the super-rich quite yet...

Can a car ever be worth £5 million? Click 'Add your comment' and let us know...

By Tim Pollard