Thursday 21st June 2018

Ferrari 250 GTO expected to fetch $45m at auction

Existing record for a public sale expected to fall as classic Ferrari goes under the hammer

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In a world where £13k can't be guaranteed to buy you a very secondhand Vauxhall Nova, it's comforting to think that several incontestable holy grail cars still exist. The Aston Martin DB4 GT, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, Lamborghini Miura SV and McLaren F1 - all univerally desired and appreciated thanks to their exceptional rarity, performance and beauty. But there's one car that consistently ranks above even those illustrious names.

Everyone has their own favourite, of course, but when it comes to the car that can stake the best claim to holding the unwavering admiration of enthusiasts, the Ferrari 250 GTO stands alone. This fact has, unsurprisingly, been reflected in its value, most notably back in 2012 when a 250 GTO became the most expensive car ever sold, going under the hammer in the USA for $32 million. That figure has been beaten several times since, right up until around two weeks ago when an American collector privately bought a 1963 example for a rumoured $70 million (£52 million).

Now comes news that yet another 250 GTO is set to head to auction, this time with an estimate of over $45 million, a figure which would set a new record for a car offered for public sale.

The specific Ferrari in question, chassis no. 3413 GT, was the third of just 36 examples of the 250 GTO ever built. It functioned as a test car, driven by Phil Hill at the 1962 Targa Florio, before being sold to its first owner, and one of Ferrari's favourite privateer customers, Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi. The Italian gentleman racer entered his new car in 10 races that year, winning all but one (in which he came 2nd) and securing the Italian National GT championship in the process.

No doubt the current owner, Dr. Greg Whitten, will be hoping that the combination of classic beauty, racing pedigree and sonorous 3.0-litre V12, plus the car's status as a modern auction icon, will all set the stage for a record-breaking bidding war. For those of us who can only dream of being involved in such high stakes one upmanship however, there is at least this short video of Dr. Whitten putting the car through its paces one final time. Make sure to turn your volume up!

[Iamnotkloot]

Lovely, lovely noise but Is it heresy to comment that I’ve never liked the back of these?

[jzakariya]

Really thrashing it in the video, ain't he.
I guess at £45 million its not allowed to go above 40 so the editor has to pretend that its going fast by doing silly timeshift edits.
I agree about the back end too.

[Oakman]

Regarding the 250 GTO rear end.

It's a Kamm Tail, aerodynamic form follows function - hence a classic teardrop tail was not found to aid any airflow, chopping it off square saved weight and aided the aero, all period stuff.

Look at Astons of the 1960's, Lotus Climax Elite etc.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

I guess someone with more money than sense will fall for the ridiculous video editing. We can only hope the buyer will thrash it as intended (regardless of value) and not just buy as a speculative investment!

[Turini]

Who cares about the price, these are glorious examples of period race car engineering, never to be repeated because we strive to improve hence them being a snapshot of their time.

If they didn’t have any value they’d have been scrapped or left to rot when broken and then we’d be left with no current experience of these or any other classic piece of engineering

[Krikkit]

jzakariya said:

Really thrashing it in the video, ain't he.

I imagine he didn't give it too much stick as there was a camera car on track with him.

He has raced it at various events in the past - that's where the GTOs fetch really serious money, as the competition pedigree keeps going.

[MikeGalos]

Nice to see some of Greg's collection. Knowing him I can only wonder what he's planning on buying with the proceeds and assume it will be a fascinating choice.

To the author, yes, Greg does have his doctorate (in Applied Mathematics) but since he's a computer scientist and not a physician the "Dr. Whitten" is, perhaps, a bit odd.

Edited by MikeGalos on Thursday 21st June 13:14

[Ninja59]

Not really a fan of the last cars with the slightly more "square" profile even if it is more efficient aero wise, always preferred the shape of the earlier cars!

But either way it is a 250GTO!

[BelfastBoy]

CharlieAlphaMike said:

I guess someone with more money than sense will fall for the ridiculous video editing. We can only hope the buyer will thrash it as intended (regardless of value) and not just buy as a speculative investment!

The nice thing about something properly blue chip like the 250GTO is that it can be thrashed merrily, rack up the miles, be crashed and repaired, but will still retain its extreme investment potential! (Another example would be Rowan Atkinson's McLaren F1, crashed on multiple high-profile occasions that didn't affect its value at all.)

[oli_quick]

Someone help me here - I thought a 250 GTO was this



Is the image in the article not (something like) a 250 LM?


Although https://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/sports-cars-models/... appears to have both body styles....

Edited by oli_quick on Thursday 21st June 13:56

[oli_quick]

oooh....it is a 250 GTO 64!!

my mistake

https://www.supercars.net/blog/1964-ferrari-250-gt...

[rob.e]

Iamnotkloot said:

Lovely, lovely noise but Is it heresy to comment that I’ve never liked the back of these?

you mean the later spec rear bodywork? agree its not as nice as the original shape but it was done to make the car quicker. I read up on this on - it was originally the classic 250 shape but then re-bodied by scaglietti in '64.

still a lovely thing.

[Justayellowbadge]

rob.e said:

you mean the later spec rear bodywork? agree its not as nice as the original shape but it was done to make the car quicker. I read up on this on - it was originally the classic 250 shape but then re-bodied by scaglietti in '64.

still a lovely thing.

Is that the ex Chris Evans car?

[storminnorman]

Krikkit said:

jzakariya said:

Really thrashing it in the video, ain't he.

I imagine he didn't give it too much stick as there was a camera car on track with him.

He has raced it at various events in the past - that's where the GTOs fetch really serious money, as the competition pedigree keeps going.

It may have a second engine for use while the original is kept safe. I think this is what Nick Mason does when racing at Goodwood etc.

[donutskidmark]

Don’t these GTO’s often get beaten by lightweight E Types at historic race events?

[peteA]

Google petrolicious 250 GTO - video much better

Amazing cars!

[Its Just Adz]

storminnorman said:

It may have a second engine for use while the original is kept safe. I think this is what Nick Mason does when racing at Goodwood etc.

I’m sure I’ve read Nick Mason has a couple of engines, as the original numbers one going bang at an event is unthinkable.

Stunning car, I would love to just see one up close.

[Pericoloso]

oli_quick said:

oooh....it is a 250 GTO 64!!

my mistake

https://www.supercars.net/blog/1964-ferrari-250-gt...

Not a 64 either ,article says it's one of the first GTO's from 62.

[Pericoloso]

donutskidmark said:

Don’t these GTO’s often get beaten by lightweight E Types at historic race events?

A lot of the E types at the Revival for example are very non period but no one seems to care.

[JMF894]

I'd love to be so filthy rich that I could afford to buy this (or anything similarly likely of being bought purely speculatively with investiture in mind), run it almost as a daily and turn up to shows, unwashed, covered in flies, empty McDonalds bag on the passenger seat and the dog in the footwell.

Then stand back and amuse myself at the reactions it would get.