At a price of $56 million, a historic 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO may end up as the most expensive car in ever.
The sale of the car in question, with chassis number 3387GT, will be handled by Talacrest. As it stands, one lucky multimillionaire or most likely a billionaire will finally have a classic 250 GTO and the bragging rights to being the person who doled out more than $38 million for a car.
The car has a metallic blue finish adorned with a white stripe across the hood, roof, and trunk. This particular 250 GTO was finished in 1962 and used by Ferrari for development purposes. It is also the first 250 GTO to take part in a race. It first raced at the 1962 Sebring 12 hours and then at the 1962 24 Hours Le Mans.
The late racing legends Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien had the distinction of taking the 250 GTO out for its first spin on the race track and placing second overall (first in class) in the process losing to a Testa Rossa. Bob Grossman and Glenn Roberts rode the same race car to a sixth place finish (third in class) at the Le Mans.
The GTO is one of the most sought-after cars and collectors are scrambling to get their hands on one. The problem is that this classic Ferrari is a rare breed. The Ferrari 250 GTO was produced from 1962 to 1964. Only 39 units of the Ferrari 250 GTO were ever made and the one up for auction is the second one to come out of the production line.
The last time the same brand and model was auctioned off, someone became $38.1 million poorer. The Ferrari in question, with chassis number 3505GT, was won in 2014 at the Bonhams' Monterey auction. The car which formerly belonged to the late French Formula One racing driver Jo Schlesser who died from a car crash in 1968, is currently the most expensive car in history beating the Mercedes W196R auctioned off in 2013 for the price of $29.65 million. The Mercedes W196R belonged to Juan Manuel Fangio.
GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato which means Grand Touring Homologated in Italian.
