Angelina Jolie.
Credit: Reuters Photo
By Hannah Elliott
A vintage Ferrari owned by Angelina Jolie will be offered at Christie’s auction house’s “Exceptional Sale” on Nov 20 in Paris.
Jolie is the current owner of the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT with coachwork by Pininfarina SpA, Christie’s confirmed. The black coupé with wire-spoke wheels is the 11th of the 353 of its kind built from 1955 to 1960, according to the sale catalog. But many details surrounding the auction headliner remain unclear, including basic facts related to its provenance, mechanical condition and how many components are original to the vehicle.
First introduced at the 1958 Paris Motor Show, the Ferrari 250 GT coupé model line offered a 12-cylinder, 240-horsepower engine with highly desirable and advanced Weber carburetors. The sporty two-door replaced Ferrari’s Boano and Ellena coupés and showed off the new capabilities of the Pininfarina design house, which had recently opened its factory in Grugliasco, Italy, and was ready to implement higher-volume production.
In a phone call and email exchange, a Christie’s spokesperson confirmed that the car retains its original engine but was “probably” repainted in 1978 from its original color of white and blue; the original black interior has been changed to red. The odometer reads 64,244 miles, although it was unclear whether those miles were original. Christie’s declined to say how long the actress had owned the car or whether she’d ever used it. The auction house is expecting its value to range from €600,000 ($662,000) to €800,000.
Average values of 1958 Ferrari 250 GT models have dropped in the past year, from $525,000 for an example in good condition in October 2023 to $410,000 for the same today, according to Hagerty Inc. The price drop mirrors the cooling market for collector cars in general. Auction results from the August sales in Monterey dropped 8 per cent from 2023.
The offering comes after news of Christie’s impending acquisition of the prominent automotive auction house Gooding & Co., a purchase intended to help diversify Christie’s selections as the art market weakens. The company exited car auctions as a segment in 2007 but at times still sold vehicles as part of specific collections. During a charity sale in 2022, it sold an Aston Martin DB5 stunt car from the James Bond film No Time to Die for more than $3 million.
Gooding has not been involved in the sale of the Ferrari 250 GT, the Christie’s spokesperson confirmed. The person declined to provide additional specifics about its acquisition or vetting process.
The car will be on view to the public Nov. 14th, 16th and 20th at Christie’s showroom in Paris.