1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Headed to Auction Could Fetch $60 Million

Selling price in the estimated value range will make this Ferrari the most expensive auction car ever.

The 68th annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event in Southern California starts later this month and one of the key attractions is the annual RM Sotheby’s auction. According to the Daily Mail, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO will hit the auction block with an estimated value that will make it the most expensive car ever sold at a collector’s auction. Mind you, there have been reports of collectable cars being sold privately for more than $60 million, but when it comes to the high-profile collector’s auction, this Ferrari could set a new world record.

The Big Number

The current record for the highest hammer price at a collector’s auction was set back in 2014, when a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold at the Bonham’s auction during Monterey Car Week for $38-million. The car being auctioned off this year has an estimated value of $45-60 million, so anywhere within that range will beat the old record by a considerable margin. If this 250 sells for $45-million, it will account for an 18% increase in the record number while a bidding war pushing the hammer price closer to $60-million would lead to an increase of 59% over the previous high-priced GTO auction car.

Why So Much?

The Ferrari 250 GTO is regarded as one of the greatest road-legal racing cars of all time, which is the first piece of the puzzle when determining the value. The car was only built from 1962 to 1964 and over the course of those three years, only 36 examples were produced. When you couple the legendary performance capabilities with the low production volume, it isn’t hard to see why these cars fetch so much money at auction.

Basically, the Ferrari 250 GTO is one of the best performance cars ever and the right to own one of the greatest cars ever comes with a big price. To be exact, that right comes with the biggest price tags ever, but collectors are happy to pay these prices to say that they owned one of the greatest performance cars ever built.

Impressive Company

While the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO might become the most expensive car ever sold at auction, it is not the only record-setter in attendance.

A 1963 Aston Martin DP215 Grand Touring Competition Prototype will also be auctioned off by RM later this month. With an estimated value of $18 to 20-million, this car could take a run at the record for the most expensive British car sold at auction. That record is held by a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 which sold for $22.5-million last year.

The current record for an American car came back in 2016 when someone paid $13.8-million for a 1962 Shelby Cobra, but a 1966 Ford GT40 with an estimated value of $9-million could challenge that record if the right buyers come to Monterey Car Week 2018.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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