How much did a Ferrari cost in 196....?

Sorry, Rob, I deserved that! Jack

 

in 73 i was scraping together $5000.00 for a used bmw bavaria. the saleman took me out to the used car lot because he wanted me to see the 64 lusso he had for sale at $8,000.00. i knew my wife to be and parents would kill me if i bought it so i had to pass. they had a new daytona and gtc4 sitting inside on the showroom floor. hindsite is more than 20/20, it is almost painful.

 

IA = Inflation adjusted for 2004 $.

 

1960's: Only Ferraris I saw were two 330 2+2 4HL's in the HP area and the '56
Boano coupe I looked at about 1965 at Precision Motors, which was located
where the Plaza of the Americas is now.

1970's and early 1980's: I probably had 20+ Ferrari spottings of cars that would be vintage by today's standards - pre V8 era. Most notable were a black 275 GTB taking off from a toll booth on to the Dallas North Tollway, late '70's, and a Euro spec Daytona about 1975 on what was then the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike. Also, the 330 2+2 and 330 GTC that I looked at a fly by night sportscar lot on Lemmon, mid 70's. Red Lusso downtown around 1980. Daytona on Hillcrest mid 80's. Besides that, my memory blurs - I just remember rolling down my windows if I were in earshot of any Ferrari (I still do that). I guess a lot of vintage cars were still cheap enough to use as drivers until the late 80's.

Late 80's to now: Chance vintage spottings have dropped off drastically.
I guess all the really collectable cars here are under lock and key in climate controlled garages. Only two recent memorable sightings were in past 10 years: I passed a red 275 GTB going the other way on Beverly Drive near Preston and it must have had the all out out 4 cam/6 carb setup because it just made pure incredible sound. Maybe it was one of Bob Norwood's projects. I also saw a very beautiful red 250 GTO in the estate area of Preston Hollow north of Northwest, west of the Tollway. I got a real good look before it turned into a gated driveway. Real GTO or replicar, it was certainly a real Ferrari with the details right.

Lately, I've gotten together locally with a couple of vintage owners - 330 2+2 2HL and 330 America - that I made contact with on Tom Yang's board. I've seen two or three 365/400 series 2+2's around. Other than the vintage cars at the recent FCA show, that's it.

 

Hi Spider, I heard a story recently about a guy in Latham, N.Y. that bought a four year old Ferrari 410 Superamerica in 1963, and put up for sale in 1969 in Road & Track for an asking price of $4750.00. If you had bought that car then, it would now be worth $2,996,000! You won't need an inflation chart for that one.

 

A few prices from the UK... (and today's equivalent)

Jan 1959, Autocar - 250 GT Coupe listed at £6469 (£135,300)

Aug 1963, Autosport - 250 GTE 2+2 listed at £5606 (£107,000)

Mar 1966, Autosport - 275 GTB alloy six carb listed at £5973 (£103,200)

May 1969, Autocar - Daytona listed at £8750 (£135,700) [365 GT 2+2 was the same price; Dino 206 GT was £6243 (£96,800)]

Used prices also make for interesting reading...

Feb 1967, Autocar - 1962 Ferrari cabriolet GTS with hard top, LHD [shall we imagine it's a California?] for £1600 (£26,600)

May 1969, Autocar - 1965 275 GTB with Webasto roof for £2950 (£45,700)

Jan 1970, Autosport - 1964 250 GT Lusso for £2395 (£35,200)

... and my favourite find, in Jul 1969, Autocar - 250GT chassis 0677GT... was this car [LWB TdF, ex Ed Niles] really just £750? (£11,600) [see pic below]
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

What were house prices at the same time? That is what we need to compare.
Pete

 

Median new home price in U.S. was about $19K in November 1964, it is now about $275K according to census data. Factor of 14 or thereabouts. Annual inflation was 4% over that period....T

 

Here's a lineup from vintage to current models. Source is the book "Ferrari" by Larry Edsall.

212 Inter - $9,500
Superfast 1 - $18,500
250 GT TDF - $11,000
250 GT California Spyder - $13,600
250 GT SWB Berlinetta - $12,500
250 GTO - $18,000
250 GT Berlinetta Lusso - $12,600
Ferrari 500 Superfast - $24,400
275 GTB - $13,900
330 GTC - $17,100
Dino 206 GT - $13,400
340 America - $8,000
410 SA - $18,500
250 LM - $20,000 (US price)
365 GTB/4 & GTS/4 Dayton Coupe & Spyder - $19,500
512 BB - $85,000
365 GT4/BB - $38,000
288 GTO - $83,400
288 GTO Evoluzione - $230,000
Testarossa 512M - $90,170
308 GTB - $28,500
308 GTBi - $40,576
308 GTB Qv - $55,145
308 GTS Qv - $60,345
F40 - $415,000
456 GT - $224,800
348 Speciale - $131,000
F355 - $130,000
F50 - $560,640
550 Maranello - $204,000
360 Modena - $138,225
Enzo - $670,000
575 Maranello - $231,000
FXX - $2.1 million
F430 Berlinetta - $169,000
612 Scaglietti - $265,000
F599 GTB Fiorano - $327,000
California - $250,000

 

This thread is very relevant.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/vintage-ferrari-market/382162-few-more-asking-prices-golden-years.html

Matt

 

In the 1960's(at least) Chinetti's retail price was about twice the amount he paid to the factory.

 

a Testa rossa race car 12,800

275 GT street car 14K


Boy that Testa Rossa was a deal!

 

From memory, a 275GTB sold for something like Lira 5,500,000. A Daytona in 1972 was about 12,000,000 Lira. Unfortunately I can't confirm those numbers. My source was Quattroroute in 1966. The 275GTB4 was about Lira 6,500,000 in 1966 / 1967.

 

SURELY that 288 GTO must be a misprint @ $83 000? Only $23 000 more than a 308 GTS QV of the same time, and only 20% of the price of the F40 which arrived only 4 years later?

 

I'm out of town now but will check when I get home. Could be a misprint. will confirm later.

 

That was the price Phil Hill quoted in a contemporary Road & Track article.

Price was FOB Maranello without any taxes. An extra $1800 got you the radio, AC and electric windows.

There was a little inflation in the 1980s. And at the time many were questioning whether the GTO was actually worth that premium over a GTB, largely because the styling was so similar. It's when looked at in hindsight, through the F40, does one understand what it really was.

Matt

 

I can't say for sure but I think the $83k was the European list price for a 288 in 1985. I bought a used BB for $20k that year so that price seems about right. In 1985 for Fathers Day my Mom bought my Dad a German version 288 nearly new [less than 1000 miles] for $150k from an exotic dealer in Cinncinnati [no idea who that was]. Like Boxers they were not homologated for the States. But they did sell for premiums when they did reach these shores. They were not sold in the States by Ferrari dealers if I recall correctly.

 

The window-sticker price of a new 288 GTO was around $85, 000 and change.

When Ferrari saw how much those sales contracts or positions on a list were trading for, peaking around $400, 000 or so, that became the price-point Ferrari asked for the new F40. Enzo was still alive. Investors curious about the influence his passing would have on the market, especially on a limited-edition model, began to drive the market.

History repeated itself with F40 sales contracts trading for upwards of $1 million.

Guess what Ferrari asked for it's F50? Except they weren't going look like fools a third time and under-price the car...they will lease you the car. Sure there are FChatters here that can speak first-hand.

 

In the early 1960s, it wasn't unusual to see in a Ferrari showroom a 250/GTE a couple of grand more expensive than the 4 or 5-year old California Sypder backed into a back-corner. Look at the value differential today.

 

I was starting a job at a sister magazine of Road &Track. As I was on my way to their Newport Beach CA office, a dark blue sports car belching smoke cut me off. When I got to the parking lot, a man stepped out of the car and asked if I wanted to buy it for $14,000. I didn't recognize it as a GTO--I was from Michigan and had never seen one. I demurred, saying something like I didn't see why anyone would want a car that was smoking so badly.
Only 40 some years later I found out Henry Manney III sold that car for somewhat less. I recognized him immediately--as a loyal R & T reader--but I'm afraid I saw him as a jokester and didn't think he would own anything of significant value.

 

Groan !! that must be a memory that is hard to live with

 

I normally get a couple of ties for father's day