5 Ferris Bueller Ferrari Facts You Didn't Know (probably)

The Ferris Bueller Ferrari is one of the most iconic cars in movie history, right?

I mean, what other ride better represents the middle finger Ferris Bueller’s Day Off flipped at the establishment, the same one we’d all like to flip at the establishment sometimes?

None that I can think of. (Well, maybe Smokey’s wheels come close.)

But as is often the case with icons, things aren’t quite what they seem when it comes to Cameron’s dad’s car.

Here, then, are some facts you don’t know (probably) about the Ferris Bueller Ferrari.

Triple Threat

First off, the Ferrari is not really a Ferrari at all. It’s three.

Or, at least it was three Ferrari’s ostensibly. In reality one of the cars never ran at all and one got beat all to hell.

Well, actually both of those got beat all to hell …

The non-runner was the star of the show, the one that flew out the window.

And the trashed running model was the one used in the jump scene — where it got beat to hell.

Is that a Peace Sign?

Originally, though, none of the Ferraris were going to get beat all to hell, because they were going to be a Mercedes.

But then, one day, Hughes ran across a photo of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT in a magazine and fell in love, from a film study standpoint, at least.

That sighting rendered the Mercedes plan moot and changed the course of film history.

Oh yeah!

Imitation Is the Sincerest …

But even after Hughes made the switch to Ferraris, and even after the cars were brought on set, there were still no Ferraris in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

There were no Ferraris in; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’.

Nope, all of the “Ferraris” were actually replicas built just for the movie by Modena Design and Development (Neil Glassmoyer and Mark Goyette).

They called their model the GT Spyder California.

Flattery Will Get You Nowhere, Except …

Which was all well and good, except for the fact that Modena went really authentic with their models, right down to including the Ferrari emblem on the cars.

And they did so without paying for the use of that emblem, and without even asking for permission.

And you know where that sort of thing almost always leads — right to the courts.

The litigation fees piled up faster than Modena could keep up with, and they closed up shop.

Big Tickets

The Ferris Bueller Ferrari has changed hands a few times, which you might expect for a car that’s actually a few cars.

Here are some of the highlights of that sales history:

The jump scene car reverted back to Glassmoyer and Goyette, who fixed it up and sold it — it’s subsequently changed hands a few more times, including for $100K+ in 2010.
One of the other replicas went unsold at an auction at a 2019 Mecum auction even though bidding reached $225K.
The other other replica hammered down for nearly 400 grand in early 2020 at a Barrett-Jackson auction.

You can read more details about these Faux-rrari sales here.