“You killed the car!” Ferris says to Cameron after he accidentally sends it plummeting into the ravine below.
For classic car enthusiasts, it’s a particularly painful scene from the classic movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
And what made this scene so painful? Seeing a beautiful car like the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT get destroyed, that’s what!
The car from this scene has easily become one of the most iconic movie cars, and we’ve got a few facts about it that you probably didn’t know.
You Killed the… Mercedes?
The car was originally going to be a Mercedes, not a Ferrari. John Hughes, writer and director for the film, happened upon a replica of the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT in a magazine and changed his mind.
But when Hughes tried to contact the men responsible for making the replica, Neil Glassmoyer and Mark Goyette of Modena Design and Development, they hung up on him, thinking he was trying to prank them.
Hughes didn’t give up. It took another call to convince them that he was serious. He showed up, took a look at it, and knew the Modena Spyder, a replica of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, was going to be the car.
Three of a Kind
Three replicas were made for the filming of the movie.
- The first replica was used for most of the movie and came out of the movie with a bit of damage. It was returned to Goyette who rebuilt and sold it.
- The second replica, which was built for performing stunts in the movie, ended up being useless because it didn’t drive well. So, they used it in another important role — as the car that rolls backwards out of the window and crashes into the ravine.
- The third replica, which was built strictly for the crash scene and was pretty much just a car shell made of fiberglass, was never completed and was therefore not used.
Replicars Shut Down
An actual 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder cost around $300,000 at that time, and there were only 100 of this model made. Hughes definitely didn’t want to spend that much on a car for the movie, especially when it would be damaged and destroyed. So the “replicars” that Glassmoyer and Goyette made were perfect.
In order to make them look like the real thing, they put real Ferrari emblems on them. The only problem was they didn’t get Ferrari’s permission to do so. Ferrari ended up suing Glassmoyer and Goyette, and they had no choice but to shut down production of their “replicars.”
We promise, no replicars here! Bryant Motors has only the real deal. Choose from a variety of new and used cars. We guarantee there’s one with your name on it. Check out our inventory online or stop by our Sedalia dealership for a visit.
