Ferrari 250 GTO sells for record $38 million

As expected, the Ferrari 250 GTO offered for sale at Monterey Thursday night by Bonhams set a new world record for a car sold at public auction, The first 250 GTO to come under the gavel in decades sold for $38.115 million.

The GTO was developed to contest the 1962 3-liter class FIA GT World Championship series of classical endurance racing events. Selective production at Maranello and in the Scaglietti body plant in Modena ran on through the 1963 FIA GT World Championship and – sure enough – the Ferrari 250 GTO won the world title both seasons in succession.

Chassis #3851GT was originally owned and raced by Jo Schlesser, and remains in its road-race/rally configuration as campaigned by its last owner, Fabrizio Violati, for 45 years until his death in 2010. Violati originally purchased the car, primarily for road use, in 1965 for 2,500,000 lire – the equivalent of about $33,500 in today's dollars.

The sale easily eclipsed the previous sales record of $29.65 million for the Fangio-raced 1954 Mercedes W196 at the Bonhams Goodwood auction in July 2013. Hemmings Motor News reports that bidding started at $10 million, quickly rose to $20 million and $30 million, then scaled its way up to the hammer price of $34.65 million – which was boosted to a final price of $38.115 million including premiums.

Hemmings says all 10 cars from the Maranello Rosso collection at Bonhams sold, for a combined $65.9 million.