Ferrari 250 GTO Sells For a Record $48.4 Million At Auction

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO just sold for a whopping $48.4 million making it the most expensive car sold at auction. The car went under the hammer at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey Sale, which was held during the Monterey Car Week.

“This marks just the third time that a GTO has been offered for public sale in the new millennium. [It is] Ferrari’s most successful racer and the world’s most sought-after collector car, full stop,” said Shelby Myers, car specialist for RM Sotheby’s.

But, the car that went under the hammer yesterday reserved a special place even among GTOs. It was the third of the 36 GTO examples to come out of the Ferrari factory. Initially used as a test car by Ferrari, it was driven by 1961 Formula 1 world champion Phil Hill during the 1962 Targa Florio. In the same year, at the hands of its first owner Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi, the car won the Italian GT Championship and came first in class at both the 1963 and 1964 Targa Florio. It claimed more than 15 class and overall wins in the following four years. The car ultimately got in the hands of Mr. Greg Whitten, former chief software-architect at Microsoft who bought the car in the year 2000.

What’s more, the car, Chassis 3413 is also one of just four upgraded by Scaglietti with Series II GTO/64 coachwork. Only seven examples received this special bodywork out of the 36 cars that were produced.

As soon as the auction started in the crowd packed saleroom, the bid for the GTO quickly jumped from the base $33 million to $40 million, then slowly moved up in $250,000 increments before the hammer eventually fell at $44 million. Auction fees added another $4.405 million for a total of the aforementioned $44.405 million.