The Holy Grail of Ferraris has sold for a fittingly prodigious amount of money.
A spectacular 1962 330 LM/250 GTO by Scaglietti hammered down for a record $51.7 million at an RM Sotheby’s sale in New York on Monday evening, becoming the most valuable Ferrari ever sold at auction. (Another similar 250 GTO changed hands for $70 million in 2018, but that was a private sale.)
Such astonishing pieces of Prancing Horse history rarely end up on the open market. This example, Chassis 3765, spent nearly four decades in private ownership before it was snapped up last night. The classic race car carried a pre-auction estimate of $60 million but sold for $8.3 million less than expected. Even still, $51.7 million is the second-highest price ever achieved for a car at auction.
The interior of the 250 GTO.
“The result, achieved through collaboration between Ferrari, RM Sotheby’s, and Sotheby’s, echoes our mutual pursuit of perfection—mirroring the very ethos Enzo Ferrari embodied when designing this car,” RM Sotheby’s global head of auctions Gord Duff said in a statement. “Fetching $51.7 million, this transaction adds a new chapter to a vehicle with an unmatched legacy.”
Produced between 1962 and 1964, the 250 GTO is at once beautiful and brawny. It is one of the best-looking grand tourers Ferrari has ever built and packs a thundering Colombo V-12. Only 36 examples rolled off the line, with this particular example distinguished by an impressive racing pedigree.
The front of Chassis 3765.
Sotheby’s says Chassis 3765 is the only 1962 GTO Tipo to be raced by Scuderia Ferrari. It clinched a class win and a second overall finish at the Nürburgring 1,000 km in May 1962, then was driven by Mike Parkes and Lorenzo Bandini at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a few months later. The vehicle was also the runner-up at the Sicilian Hillclimb championship in 1965.
As you might expect, the long-nosed stunner has won numerous awards at auto shows over the years, too. Most notably, the GTO was awarded Best in Show at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 2012. The rare ride has a beautiful Corso Rossa exterior with no. 7 gumballs and a period-correct interior with blue seats.
The Ferrari’s Colombo V-12.
To put Monday’s auction price into perspective, Chassis 3765 initially sold for $6,000 in ‘64. Ohio-based collector Jim Jaeger then paid $500,000 (or about $1.4 million in today’s money) for it in ‘85. Now, as Duff puts it, “It ranks among the most expensive cars sold at auction, a true testament to its singular place in history.”
Click here to see more photos of the 250 GTO.
