Here it is, folks, the car that attracted top bucks in the Scottsdale auction week: a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. The yellow beauty was sold by Gooding for $3.3 million dollars. Oddly, it looked rather humble in the preview tent where I took this photo, surrounded as it was by a number of superb classics, including other Ferraris, which just goes to show what rarity and a racing pedigree can do. The California Spyder was a concept by U.S. distributors Jon von Neumann and Luigi Chinetti, who convinced Il Commendatore to create a V-12 convertible named after the state that topped Ferrari sales in the US. It was based on the legendary 250 GT Tour de France winner, offering the same 140 mph top speed. Bodies were designed by Pininfarina, hand-crafted by Carozerria Scaglietti. Spyders had a plain interior with a heater as the only luxury, apparently to provide a little comfort on those chilly California evenings. With only 125 cars constructed between 1958 and 1963, the Ferrari California Spyders were much coveted at the time and obviously still are. Gooding & Company's inaugural Scottsdale Auction was a major success, by the way, with a grand total of more than $21 million for 64 cars sold, of which seven went for more than $1 million each.