A single-lot auction of a classic racing car that is considered the Holy Grail of Ferraris last changed hands in 1985 — for a fraction of the price.
A bright red Ferrari with a storied history sold for $51.7 million, with buyer’s fees, on Monday, becoming the most expensive automobile from that Italian carmaker ever sold at auction. The price nevertheless fell short of the auction house’s expectations at a time when the once red-hot market for collectables has begun to cool amid geopolitical uncertainty and rising interest rates.
RM Sotheby’s, the automobile seller in which Sotheby’s bought a controlling stake in 2022, offered the 1962 Ferrari 330 LM/250 GTO by Scaglietti with an unpublished estimate of $60 million. Two bidders drove the price to $47 million before auction-house fees. (RM Sotheby’s declined to give any information about the buyer.)
Sotheby’s promoted the car as a luxury object, offering it in a stand-alone sale during its marquee fall auctions of fine art in New York. To drive the point home, the auctioneer, Oliver Barker — who is also chairman of Sotheby’s Europe — presided over the proceedings at Sotheby’s York Avenue headquarters, where the car was parked in front of a painting by the contemporary art star Jonas Wood.
There are only 36 Ferrari 250 GTOs in existence, produced between 1962 and 1964. Owners of the car instantly become members of an exclusive club that includes the fashion designer Ralph Lauren and Nick Mason, the drummer for Pink Floyd.

RM Sotheby’s described this particular car as “one of one.” Although it looks almost identical to a 250 GTO, it was originally configured as a 330 LM, an even rarer car with a slightly larger engine. Converted into a 250 GTO later in 1962, it is the only one ever raced by Scuderia Ferrari, the carmaker’s racing division. Ferrari sold it to a Sicilian surgeon in 1964 for $6,000.

Source: The New York Times