An iconic 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO has sold for $51,705,000 USD at an auction held by the RM Sotheby's group.
This is the highest price ever paid at public auction for a car from Maranello. What’s more, the firm behind the sale had expected bids to climb above 60 million, due to the special nature of the model. In fact, it was the only 250 GTO from the first series that still belonged to the factory.
The recent sale in New York broke the previous record for a 250 GTO at auction, set in 2018 when one sold for $48.4 million USD.
The car just sold is a legendary racing car. It is also the only GTO to have inherited a bigger variant of the Colombo 4.0L V12 engine, a unit it used successfully early in its career. The car claimed a class victory at the 1000 miles of Nurburgring in 1962, before competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year with drivers Lorenzo Bandini and Mike Parkes.
According to Road & Track, the car took a detour into a gravel pit at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, before finally dropping out of the famed race during hour six due to engine trouble. The car was brought back to Ferrari in May 1963 to be converted into a 3L GTO before being sold to Pietro Ferraro. Ferrari took the racing car back in trade in 1967. It was soon bound for the U.S., and eventually, in 1985, it came into the possession of an Ohio collector, who has owned it since then.
This latest sale by Sotheby’s likely is not a record for a 250 GTO. One is believed to have been sold for over $70 million USD in 2016 in a private sale.
Wondering about the most expensive car ever sold at auction? A Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was auctioned off by RM Sotheby's for $144 million USD in 2016.