Ferris facts: 5 things you didn't know about Bueller's Day Off

When ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ arrived in cinemas in the mid-eighties, it soon became a cult classic – and not only because a Ferrari California Spider occupied a starring role. Now, almost three decades on, we bring you five Ferris facts that might have escaped your notice…

The faux Ferrari was almost a potent Porsche

Even back in the mid-eighties, the super-rare Ferrari 250 GT California Spider LWB was too valuable to endure the ultimate sacrifice that the film car was required to make. It’s popular knowledge that three replicas – built by Modena Design & Development using MG parts and Ford V8s – were used instead, with the best kept of the trio auctioned off in Monterey last year for a staggering $230,000. But less well known is the fact that before coming across the faux Ferraris, director John Hughes had a Porsche 930 Turbo in mind for the starring role.

Remember the parking brake…

Following closely behind the sale of the Faux-rrari at Monterey last year, another iconic subject of the film found a new owner just a few weeks ago. The modernist ‘Ben Rose’ house in Illinois, better known as the Frye dwelling from whose pavilion the car was famously expelled, was sold for $1.06m. Hollywood provenance aside, the two-building abode also boasts four bedrooms, four bathrooms and modernist 1950s architecture by A. James Speyer in the style of his mentor, Mies van der Rohe. What’s more, it was being offered at less than half the $2.6m asked when first advertised on the market back in 2009.

Charlie Sheen says no to drugs

In one of his first movie roles, the young Charlie Sheen seen in the police station scene actually elected to avoid sleep for 48 hours in order to create the druggie look, rather than partake in ‘method acting’. A case of ‘good habits dying young’ perhaps, Charlie?

Easter eggs served on plates

The Frye Ferrari famously wore the NRVOUS license plate to signify the family’s anxious disposition, but those found on other cars in the film also have a hidden meaning – more specifically, they’re abbreviations taken from Hughes’ filmography. Katie Bueller’s ChryslerLeBaron bore VCTN (National Lampoon’s Vacation); Jeannie’s Pontiac Fiero displayed TBC (The Breakfast Club); Tom’s Audi 5000 S Turbo had MMOM (Mr. Mom); and Mr Rooney's Plymouthwore 4FBDO. The plates represent one of many easter eggs included in the film by Hughes – another being the multiple references to ‘Sherner’, the town in which The Breakfast Club (1983) was set.

Where is she now?

As Ferris’ ‘choice girlfriend’ Sloane Peterson, a young Mia Sarapochiello stole the hearts of a whole generation of boys with her incandescent natural beauty. The only teenager of the thrill-seeking high-school trio (Matthew Broderick was 23, while Alan Ruck was 29), she went on to a moderately successful acting career, from which she now considers herself “mostly retired” at age 47. Along the way, she not only gained her private pilot’s licence, but also married Jason Connery (son of Sean) and later Brian Henson (son of The Muppets creator Jim), with whom she has had one child each.

In the Classic Driver Market, you'll not only find hundreds of classic Ferraris for sale, but also a selection of luxury properties to rival the Frye residence.