Press Release

1985 Modena Spyder “Ferris Bueller Car” on Display at Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation as part of Hagerty Drivers Foundation Showcase

(Dearborn, Mich. – August 24, 2022) – Starting this month, the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, in partnership with the Hagerty Drivers Foundation, welcomes a rotating selection from the National Historic Vehicle Register’s prestigious group of culturally significant automobiles. This special pop-up will showcase a new vehicle from the Register every six months, beginning with the 1985 Modena Spyder, better known as the “Ferris Bueller car.”.

One of the most memorable movie cars of the 1980s, the 1985 Modena Spyder famously appeared in the 1986 hit Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, after a genuine Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder proved to be too expensive. Writer-director John Hughes secured three replicas from Modena Design & Development to be used during filming. The display vehicle was used for wide shots and the memorable scene in which two parking-garage attendants jump the car through the air during a joyride in Chicago. Since filming, the vehicle changed ownership and received various updates and modifications, but in 2010 the Spyder’s current owner returned it to its movie specifications.

The 1985 Modena Spyder is the 22nd of 32 automobiles to be commemorated and documented as a part of our national heritage under the National Historic Vehicle Register and U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service and the Historic American Engineering Record. The photographs, line-drawings and history of this vehicle, and all Register cars, will be archived in the Library of Congress.

“The purpose of the National Historic Vehicle Register is to record the history of America’s most culturally significant automobiles so they can exist forever within the Library of Congress alongside other culturally significant artifacts,” said Jonathan Klinger, Executive Director of the Hagerty Drivers Foundation. “The movie car from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has delighted multiple generations far outside the automotive community and we are excited to share this car with the visitors at The Henry Ford.”

Following the model of preservation work and legislation that has existed at the federal level for significant buildings, bridges, and airplanes, but never cars, the Historic Vehicle Association (now the Hagerty Drivers Foundation) initiated a collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2013 to include automobiles in the Historic American Engineering Record through a National Historic Vehicle Register program. Following criteria set forth by the Heritage Documentation Programs and the Secretary of the Interiors Standards, many more vehicles will be added in the future.

This special display is included with admission to Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. For more information and updates on hours, tickets and safety guidelines, visit thf.org or follow The Henry Ford on social media @thehenryford.