This Ferrari was made just for America, and it's the last of its type — now it's worth $26 million (RACE)

RM Sotheby's

Sometime in the mid-1960s, the main Ferrari importer in America, a racing driver named Luigi Chinetti, decided that there was a gap in the Ferrari lineup.

He asked Enzo Ferrari himself for a convertible version of the 275 GTB/4, in which his American customers could soak up a little sunshine.

The result was the beautiful 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder — named for the North American Racing Team, Ferrari's stateside endurance-racing program founded by Chinetti himself.

The car made a Hollywood appearance in the original 1968 version of "The Thomas Crowne Affair," in which it was ogled by the titular character, a millionaire playboy and art thief played by Steve McQueen. 

McQueen, a noted car devotee, would later buy a NART Spyder for himself.

Only 10 NART Spyders were ever made, and all were intended to make it to the US.

Except — oddly enough — this one, which was sold to a Spanish colonel of the Foreign Legion in February 1968. 

At an RM Sotheby's auction in Monaco this weekend, this NART Spyder will headline an already star-studded docket and is expected by the house to sell for between $21 million and $26 million.

Why that much? Well, it's from what is usually considered the greatest period of Ferrari road and race cars ...

... and of that period, front-engined, limited-edition convertibles usually reign supreme.

Its predecessor, the beguiling 250 GT California Spyder SWB, is another example from this very rare category. One sold at Amelia Island this year for $17.1 million.