Ferrari from Disney’s The Love Bug up for sale for 4.7mln pounds

October 16, 2012 | Cinema | Written by

London, Oct 16: A vintage Ferrari that starred in Disney’s ‘The Love Bug’ has been put up for sale for a staggering 4.7 million pounds.

The Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour De France was one of a number of sports cars that was not able compete with the humble ‘Herbie the Beetle’ in the 1968 children’s film about a lovable Volkswagen, the Daily Mail reported.

But in real life, the 1956 motor was one of the world’s ultimate cars, as the Italian company built just nine models.

It is now one of the world’s most sought after cars, and has been put on the open market for 15 times its value 20 years ago.

The car had been designed by the famed car builder Pininfarina and was built by Scaglietti and picked up its Tour de France name – thanks to its dominance in the famous ten-day road race that shares a name with the famous cycle contest.

Between 1956 and 1962, the 250GT won the gruelling race 7 times in a row.

This particular car was sold new to US-based property developer Tony Parravano and by 1965 it had found its way into the hands of Walt Disney’s studio.

It later resurfaced in 1994 when Watford-based DK Engineering bought it and restored it to competition-winning condition before selling it back to California.

Now, after spending the last 15 years on the west coast of the USA, Ascot-based Talacrest has shipped it back to the UK.

It is now one of the most expensive cars to ever come onto the open market in England with Talacrest boss John Collins asking for the staggering amount.

Collins, who has bought and sold all of the world’s great Ferraris, has described the car as “pristine.”

“This Ferrari is very rare, they hardly ever come onto the market. There were just nine built and two of these were lost to crashes. It is in pristine condition and has won numerous awards. It is an incredibly sought after car,” he said.

‘You can also compete in the Mille Miglia with this model and this isn’t possible with a lot of classic Ferraris which are built after the 1957 cut-off point,” he added. (ANI)