One of the most famous Ferraris in pop culture turns out to not be a Ferrari at all. In fact, the "Ferrari" used in the iconic 80s movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off was actually a 1985 Modena Spyder, a custom made recreation of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California, built by Modena Design & Development.

The Modena Spyder was commissioned by Director John Hughes due to the excessive cost of using a real 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California. Modena Design & Development built a complete car and a rolling shell for Paramount studios to use in the film, as well as another complete car which they leased to the studio, which is seen here. This car was the primary hero car of the film being used for a majority of the driving scenes throughout the movie as well as the famous valet jump scene.

Even though it’s badged as a “Ferrari”, the Modena Spyder is actually powered by a Ford 302 cid V8 paired to a C-4 automatic transmission as Matthew Broderick (Ferris) couldn’t drive a manual. The body is made of fiberglass over a steel tubular frame, with several parts borrowed from various cars including an MG MGB, Volkswagen Type 3, and a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.

The Modena Spyder was inducted into the National Historic Vehicle Register (NHVR) of the Library of Congress in March of 2018 for its association to an important person and events in American history and culture, as well as becoming the tangible embodiment of the classic film’s enormous popularity within American pop culture.

Learn about the details of this car and many others on the NHVR through our newest series UP CLOSE where we take you through the details on some of the most significant cars in America's automotive history. #DriveHistory

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