Rare 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Has $5 Million Estimate

The most talked-about Ferrari at Monterey Car Week this year is not a modern hypercar. It is a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I by Pinin Farina, a delicately styled open-top grand tourer carrying a headline presale estimate of $4–5 million at RM Sotheby’s.

That number raises two questions for collectors: what sets this 250 GT Cabriolet apart, and is $5 million wild money or in line with today’s Ferrari market. Misjudge either and you misread everything from its provenance to how blue-chip auction houses price rare Maranello cars.

1958 Ferrari Estimate And Monterey Auction Context

The 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I is consigned to RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026 sale, scheduled for August 13–15 at the Portola Hotel & Monterey Conference Center, and is billed as one of the headline Ferraris in the catalog.

RM Sotheby’s gives it a $4–5 million estimate and notes it as the 18th of 40 Series I cabriolets, originally shown at the New York auto show and kept in highly original condition with matching-numbers chassis, engine, gearbox, and rear axle, Ferrari Classiche certification, and a preservation-class award at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Only a short list of Monterey lots carry upper estimates beyond $5 million, so this 1958 cabriolet sits among the headline road-going Ferraris rather than as an outlier, especially when parked in the catalog next to modern Maranello flagships.

Why This Ferrari Is So Rare—and How Its Value Stacks Up

This 1958 250 GT Cabriolet stands out because early open-top Ferraris were built in tiny numbers, and Series I cars by Pinin Farina mix hand-finished bodywork, a three-liter Colombo V12, and show-car provenance that includes its New York debut and long-documented ownership.

Its long spell out of public view and largely unrestored, preservation-class condition make it a highly original survivor that a new owner can keep on the major concours circuit, rather than a barn-find rescue or a restomod project.

Set against recent results, 250 GT California Spiders reach eight-figure territory and works racers such as a 1963 Ferrari 250 P can be guided in the mid-teens, so a $4–5 million guide for a road-going 250 GT Cabriolet looks ambitious but consistent with top non-racing 1950s Ferraris at Monterey. Coverage of a special Ferrari 250 GTO headed to auction underlines how competition history pushes values beyond headline cabriolets, while previews of seven rare Ferraris crossing the block at Monterey 2026 show estimates from around $3.7 million to $12 million becoming normal.

On the broader market side, our look at recent Ferrari price trends around the $550,000 mark shows how “entry” six-figure Maranello cars sit on a very different rung from Monterey’s headline lots, while the Ferrari Testarossa first-drive report illustrates how older Ferraris feel away from the auction lights.

If you are watching this 1958 cabriolet with a bidder’s paddle in mind, the checklist is simple: confirm the matching-numbers driveline, review its Ferrari Classiche file, and study its concours record, because on a multi-million-dollar Ferrari like this, tiny details in originality and paperwork can shift the final hammer price by seven figures.

Collectors who miss this chassis will see other rare Ferraris at charity and special-format sales, including events such as the Ferrari Daytona SP3 charity auction, but this 1958 250 GT Cabriolet remains a sharp snapshot of where blue-chip 1950s Ferrari values sit at Monterey in 2026.

Motor1’s Take: This is a preservation-class 250 GT, not a project or custom build, so bidders are really paying for originality, paperwork, and an easy path onto major concours lawns, and the final hammer will show whether the market now values that period authenticity on the same level as newer blue-chip Ferraris.