1962 Ferrari auctioned for US$51.7 million in New York, becomes second most expensive car ever sold
- Bright red roadster had been part of collection kept in America for the past 38 years, according to auction house Sotherby’s
- Sale price second only to the €135 million paid for Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe last year
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sports car has sold for US$51.7 million, making it the second most expensive car ever sold at auction, Sotheby’s said.
The bright red roadster had been the property of an American collector for the past 38 years, and its auction price was surpassed only by that of a Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe that went for €135 million in 2022, the auction house said. That would be US$144 million at today’s exchange rate.
The 250 GTO went on sale on Monday evening in New York after a few minutes of bidding in the auction room, but at a price lower than the more than $60 million expected by RM Sotheby’s, the luxury car subsidiary of the auction house.
Sotheby’s did not identify the winning bidder.
Dating from 1962, the Scuderia sports car – chassis 3765, four-liter engine developing 390 horsepower – had finished second in a 1,000km endurance race on the German Nurburgring circuit, as well as in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the team had to withdraw because of engine failure, according to RM Sotheby’s.
After several years of competition on the Italian mainland and in Sicily, the car was sold and exported to the US in the late 1960s.
