How Raquel Welch charmed her way into a multi-million dollar Ferrari – for free

A 1967 film centred around a female skydiver who is asked to help a British secret agent recover a nuclear weapon's trigger hidden in an antique Chinese statue didn't earn its star, Hollywood icon Raquel Welch, much critical acclaim. However, it did earn her a spectacular bonus.

In the film, Welch's titular character, Fathom, drives a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS Spider, one of just 200 ever made.

The star reportedly enjoyed driving the car so much that following some impressive negotiation and a whole lot of charm, Welch managed to finish the film's production with the keys to the Spider in her hand, a gift from the film's director, Leslie Martinson.

Perhaps more amazing is the story that Welch, with fewer than 10 films on her resume at the time, fell out with the director on the first day of production, and never spoke to him again.

Despite this, the Ferrari was a considerable windfall as every way you look at it, the 275 Spider was an expensive choice.

When new, the 275 GTS was priced from $US14,500, which at local inflation rates is the equivalent of $AU340,000. Considering the US base price and the advent of Australia's Luxury Car Tax (LCT), a 2023 Ferrari Portofino M isn't too far from a modern equivalent at $AU455,000 before on-road costs.

Choosing the Ferrari may have added some celluloid cache for the characters, but for some mid-1960s context, a Ford Mustang convertible would have set the production back about $US2700, one-fifth the price of the prancing horse.

Powered by a 3.3-litre V12 with six Weber twin-choke carburettors, the 275 produced 190kW at a sonorous 7000rpm. It was impressively modern for its time too, with disc brakes on all four wheels, a five-speed manual transmission, and independent suspension at all four corners.

Welch owned the 275 Spider, finished in Tour de France Blue over cream leather, for a number of years before it was sold to a couple in California who kept it for the next 30-odd years. It was then sold to a collector in France where it was fully restored to its 1960s on-screen glory.

It was worth the effort too, as a similar 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS sold last month at the Bonhams Scottsdale Auction for $US1,586,250 ($AU2.3m). Throw in the celebrity provenance, and that would have been one valuable bonus!

Raquel Welch went on to star in a number of films throughout the 1960s and '70s, but is best known to modern audiences as 'the girl on the poster' in the 1994 movie, The Shawshank Redemption. The poster photo is Welch's most recognised, featuring the star in a deer-skin bikini in a scene from the 1966 movie, One Million Years BC.

Vale Raquel Welch, who passed away 15 February 2023, aged 82.