Ferrari 250GTO going to auction - how much will it make?

[jamesatcandsc]

I can't remember if this has ever happened before (a couple have been entered, but subsequently been bought before the sale and the last one to cross the rostrum, at Bonhams' Gstaad sale in December 2000, failed to meet reserve), but this one is no-reserve, so it WILL be sold... and I dread to think how much it is going to make.

Ferrari 250GTO to be sold by Bonhams

My guess is $55million, give or take a few million bucks. Anyone else want to play?

[jamesatcandsc]

napierrailton said:

jamesatcandsc said:

I can't remember if this has ever happened before (a couple have been entered, but subsequently been bought before the sale and the last one to cross the rostrum, at Bonhams' Gstaad sale in December 2000, failed to meet reserve), but this one is no-reserve, so it WILL be sold... and I dread to think how much it is going to make.

Ferrari 250GTO to be sold by Bonhams

My guess is $55million, give or take a few million bucks. Anyone else want to play?

You'd have to say $50m+ is readily achievable but if any 2 individuals decided that they really want it then we could see any price!
Chris Evans sold his Series 2 & was rumoured to be after an earlier car. I wonder whether his pockets are deep enough!

As an aside, doesn't the record belong to the ex-Fangio Mercedes-Benz W196 rather than the Ferrari 275 stated in the article? £19.6m equates to more than $27.5m

Yes. The road car record is held by the RM NART Spider, the outright record by the Bonhams W196. That said, I sometimes question all this stuff about records when we all know that some cars are selling privately for loads more than either of those cars made at auction.

[jamesatcandsc]

DavidY said:

The classic car bubble will burst, its just a cyclic thing, just when we can't predict.

As soon as interest rates go up usually.

That said, there are a couple of things that seem to be different this time around:
1) Some of the investment groups (the guys playing in the really big league) are happy to admit that they have no plans to cash in in this boom. Rather they are playing a long game and, even if the market crashes, they are looking at selling in the next inevitable boom. Guess that means that all their cars are going to be out of circulation for a long time, which is not good news. Others admit they are looking at a six-month turnaround and who can blame them given what GTO prices have done? I know of one that sold four years ago for circa £8million, double that just one year later and would be double that again now. Where else could you get that return?
2) Also, despite there being a global financial crisis, it seems that many more super-rich people this time around have been entirely unaffected by it and can continue to indulge themselves with cost being irrelevant. This is less depressing because these tend to be individuals who appreciate the cars, use them and show them.

So, there is a chance that even if the market bursts its seams, the very top end could be immune, but people shelling out £1million for Countachs, £200k for E-types and Dinos, or £80k for Austin-Healeys might want to be a bit more cautious!

I may be wrong, it may keep spiralling upwards forever or simply plateau, but who really wants a classic car world where normal enthusiasts simply can't afford to buy anything?

Edited by jamesatcandsc on Tuesday 1st July 17:44

[jamesatcandsc]

Bull1t said:

Cheib said:

In some ways it'll be a shame if it does as they will be used less and less in anger.

I think GTOs passed that a long time ago. If you are too afraid to drive a $50m Ferrari it won't be any easier to drive a $20m one.

I hope you are right: if you've got the money to buy it, you've certainly got the money to drive it.
Granted, some people will view this car solely as art or investment, and they will be bidding on it for sure, but if you remember how many cars took part in that European GTO rally two years ago (24 if I recall correctly), I am optimistic that the people who know what such a car is really for will be prepared to bid higher.

[jamesatcandsc]

Elderly said:

lowdrag said:

..................., should we all be investing in paintings of a GTO?

We could invest in the auction catalogue, but even that is $100

Open to offers. Then again, I might just leave it out in the rain for a bit, sell it as a barnfind catalogue in a month or two and charge twice as much...[url]

|http://thumbsnap.com/kpi29eF0[/url]

[jamesatcandsc]

It's all relative, of course, but I would say that was a pretty "sane" price.