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Most Valuable Car Ever to be Offered at Monterey Auction
RM Sotheby’s has confirmed that it has secured a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, one of the most sought after collector cars ever, for what is set to be its most exciting Monterey auction offering to date.
One of just 36 built, the GTO boasts a prestigious racing history and is estimated to yield more than $45 million when it goes under the hammer in August - making it the most valuable motor car ever offered at auction.
Ferrari’s 250 GTO was effectively the final evolution of the marque’s famous 250 model, which debuted in 1953 and ended with the last GTOs in 1964. In total, a mere 36 examples of the 250 GTO were ever produced, all of which have survived.
Widely considered the most beautiful Ferrari design, the model was one of the most successful road/racing cars that the company ever built, claiming overall victory or 1st in class in nearly 300 races worldwide.
Decades down the road, the Ferrari 250 GTO has become the car collector’s “holy grail”, thanks not only to its incredible pedigree, but to a group of French collectors who organised the first gathering of GTO owners in 1982.
Occurring every five years since its inception, the meeting is a glorious driving and dining tour across the country of their choosing, and the only entry into this exclusive club is ownership; making the GTO the hottest ticket in the collector car world.
“We are thrilled at the rare opportunity to offer a legendary Ferrari 250 GTO at auction,” says Shelby Myers, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s. “Due to the evolution of technology and safety regulations that followed, the GTO was essentially the final true road racer, marking the end of an era when drivers really got their hands dirty.
“This was the last car that you could park in your garage, drive to the track, win the race, and then drive home.”
Following its racing career, the GTO has passed through an unbroken chain of ownership that includes some of the most prominent Ferrari collectors in the hobby. In 2000, it was acquired by current owner Dr. Greg Whitten, Chairman of Numerix, avid collector car enthusiast and former chief software architect at Microsoft.
Held during the world-famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance motoring week, RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale has been the pinnacle of collector car auctions for more than 30 years.