There’s a famous scene in the iconic 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when his dad’s prized 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder accidentally crashes through a garage window and falls into the woods below.
Photo by CBS via Getty Images
That same car recently sold at an auction for $337,000, which seems like a steal since a 1961 California Spyder sells for millions.
But here’s the catch—it wasn’t a Ferrari at all, but rather a 1985 “replicar” designed by Modena Design and Development.
The crash car was one of three faux Ferraris built for the movie — albeit the most famous. While the red sportscar looks a lot like the original California Spyder, it doesn’t drive. Plus, the car is sort of a lemon — it was destroyed in the movie and then later rebuilt for sale. According to Motor Trend, the car has had several owners.
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The story of Ferris Bueller replicars
As Hollywood legend has it, Ferris Bueller director John Hughes wanted the 1961 Ferrari to be one of the movie’s stars. But crashing a classic car out a window was just too expensive — even by movie studio standards.
Hughes discovered Modena Design and Research, a new company that built Ferrari replicas. He commissioned three fake Ferraris in all for the movie. But the designs of the Ferraris were so accurate that Ferrari sued Modena Design and won a cease and desist order. The company went out of business in 1989.
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From 1985 to 1989, Modena made 50 Modena Spyders, and only 38 still exist.
Watch the car crash scene from the movie below.
