Rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Sold For $38 Million, Breaking Records [Video]
Got an extra $38 million lying around? $38,115,000 to be exact? If so, you could have purchased the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta that went up for auction at the Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction during the Monterey Car Week, according to Car Magazine.
Breaking records as the most expensive car sold at auction, the bidding started at $11 million and quickly rose to $31 million in a mere 60 seconds. As the price crept up, auctioneer Robert Brooks asked,
“Spare another $500,000?” as reported by the L.A. Times.
Wouldn’t you just like to be in a room where that question is asked? “Sure, let me just check my back pocket, Mr. Brooks.”
With it’s 3.0 liter, 300 horsepower and it’s V-12 engine, this baby will rock and roll. According to Bloomberg, the Ferrari GTO was “one of the last Ferraris to be built for the race and the street.”
The two were not to be confused, however, but unfortunately for French race driver, Henri Oreiller, he had a difficult time making that distinction. He slammed the Ferrari into the side of a building, and died. In fact, this very GTO, as reported by L.A. Times, was driven hard during it’s heyday.
“It was ‘raced, wrecked and rebuilt more than once.'”
Bloomberg reveals that only 39 Ferrari 250 GTOs were made between the years of 1962 and 1964, and this particular Ferrari was 19th of the 39.
In case you are wondering what a car like this would have sold for during that time, Bloomberg says the original cost was $18,000, which converts to $142,000 in today’s market. So who are the owners of these elite GTOs? You may recognize the names of a few, such as Ralph Lauren, Nick Mason (the drummer for Pink Floyd), and believe it or not, the Wal-Mart heir himself, Rob Walton. Remember that next time you are standing in line at Wal-Mart waiting to purchase your toilet brush and toothbrush at a bargain price.
Unfortunately for us, Bonhams refused to reveal who purchased the car, stating that it was a group of investors who bought a total of 73 cars at the auction with the intent to turn around and sell quickly, according to L.A. Times.
But we do know that the Ferrari 250 GTO had the same owner for 49 years, Fabrizio Violati, a descendant of an extremely wealthy family. Of course, would we expect any less?
All we can say is that next year’s auction is fast approaching. So, if you’re interested, start pinching your pennies.
[Photo Credit: Bonhams.com]
