The only Avorio Ferrari 250 GT/L ever produced by the factory is being put up for sale in the autumn by RM Sotheby’s, at the auction house’s November London event. Chassis 5379 was the 235th of the 350 examples built, and it is the only Avorio Ferrari 250 GT/L with a red leather interior.
The Scaglietti-designed car was first owned by a WT Davis of New Jersey, who then passed it to sports car importer and SCCA racer Bob Grossman. It then went to Ferrari Club of America (FCA) treasurer Carl Johnson of Illinois.
Johnson displayed the 250 GT/L at many FCA events before selling it to Dr Walter Bayard in 1972. Bayard, an ophthalmologist based in Tryon, North Carolina, would keep the car for only two years before passing it on to Dr Raymond Boniface of Poland, Ohio.
Dr Boniface had served in Europe during World War Two, and he returned to Italy to study at the University of Bologna. This sparked his admiration of Italian cars, of which he owned several. However, it was the Avorio Ferrari 250 GT/L that persisted in his collection the longest – he maintained stewardship of the car from 1974 until his passing in 2020.
During Dr Boniface’s ownership, Joe Piscazzi’s American Auto Body of Akron, Ohio was instructed to perform a cosmetic restoration in the original colour combination in 1988. The car was later featured in the fourth quarter 1999 issue of Prancing Horse magazine, and in 2017 a clutch failure set about a large-scale wider mechanical refreshment courtesy of Fowler Automotive of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania. It then won Best in Class at the 2017 Concours of America in St John’s, Michigan.
The Avorio Ferrari 250 GT/L was acquired from Dr Boniface’s estate by the vendor, and brought to the UK. It’s been annually serviced by Bob Houghton, and it retains its matching-numbers chassis, engine, gearbox and rear axle. It’s estimated at between £1m and £1.5m.
The RM Sotheby’s London auction takes place on Saturday November 1, 2025, and more details can be found here.
