This $450,000 Ferrari 330 Was the Casket of Choice for One San Antonio Woman
The Ferrari 330 America was without a doubt one of the most stylish cars of the 1960s. However, one San Antonio woman named Sandra West loved her Ferrari enough to take it to the grave.
According to My San Antonio, West wrote in her will that she wanted to be buried in her Italian sports car. As you might expect, this unusual request required some unique engineering to make it happen.
How do you get buried in a $450,000 Ferrari 330 America?
This story begins with a 1964 Ferrari 330 America and its owner, Sandra West. According to My San Antonio, West lived mostly in Beverly Hills, where she had a large collection of jewelry and Ferraris. Her husband, Ike West, was big in the Texas oil industry, where he made a small fortune.
After her husband passed away in the late 1960s, West inherited the fortune, which boosted her net worth to around $5 million, says My San Antonio. Adjusted for inflation, West would be worth around $21 million in today’s money.
As part of her will, West came up with the idea to use her Ferrari as her casket. At the time, the car was worth around $20,000, says My San Antonio. Adjusted for inflation, this would be around $86,330 in today’s money. However, a recent valuation by Hagerty indicates that the car is now worth around $450,000.
A concrete box was developed for this unusual request
Unfortunately, My San Antonio reports that West suddenly passed away toward the beginning of the 1970s. At this point, her will came into effect, so the Ferrari went with her. As you can imagine, this sort of stunt requires some unusual engineering. According to My San Antonio, the funeral home developed a concrete box to bury the Ferrari in.
According to My San Antonio, a train carried the vintage Ferrari from Beverly Hills to San Antonio. There, a team positioned West’s body in the driver’s seat. Given the unusual request, armed guards protected both the car and West’s corpse during this process. Once the funeral placed the car in the concrete box, workers sealed it and took it to the gravesite.
According to My San Antonio, the grave is 19 ft long, 10 ft wide, and 9 ft deep. As you might imagine, this spectacle drew a large crowd. Unfortunately, out of the 300 people that attended, My San Antonio reports that none of West’s friends or family showed up.
What about the car that now lives underground?
Now that we’ve covered where this vintage Ferrari ended up let’s look at what made the 330 America special. Under the hood lives a naturally-aspirated V12 engine developing around 300 hp. Additionally, Pininfarina styled the 330 America, making it one of the most stylish cars of the 1960s.
According to RM Sotheby’s, Ferrari produced just 50 examples of the 330 America, making it one of the rarest cars on earth. While 49 examples likely live in collections worldwide, there is one that will never leave San Antonio.