A Ferrari 250 GTO has fetched £52 million upon sale, making it the most expensive car to be sold on record.
This particular 1963 250 GTO, reports AutoClassics, won the Tour de France the year after it was built and got its record price tag through never having crashed in its 55-year lifespan.
The buyer, American businessman David MacNeil, is a known collector of Ferraris and is currently CEO of car weather protection accessories company WeatherTech. UK Ferrari restoration specialist DK Engineering restored the car in the 1990s, but MacNeil reportedly bought the car from German racing driver Christian Glaesel, who has owned the car for 15 years.
Its racing history, having competed in the 1963 Le Mans 24 Hours, Angolan Grand Prix and others, makes this 250 GTO’s uncrashed status all the more remarkable. Its more recent outings were at the Goodwood Revival while under the ownership of Nicolaus Springer between 1997 and 2000.
The next most expensive car ever sold was at auction. It was another 250 GTO, which fetched £30,750,300. That example was raced by Jo Schlesser.
Seven of the top 10 most expensive cars ever sold have been Ferraris, three of them being 250-badged. The most expensive non-Ferrari in the list is a Mercedes-Benz W196 racing car, which was sold for £23,880,600 at auction in 2013.
Read more:
The 13 most expensive cars sold in history
The greatest Ferraris ever tested by Autocar
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52 m ?
Not on your Nellie!
The guy who bought this Ferrari for 52 m must have completely taken leave of his senses.
Preposterous.
Investment...?
And a Tax thing too probably, it’s not likely to go down in value, better than investing it in stocks n shares,better return...
too valuable!
These are now getting too valuable.
Fabulous though they are, the value is taking the pleasure out of owning one.
If I were in the position to consider competing in one, I would rather but a recreation based on a less desirable 250 (GTE), from a few years back...maybe one crafted by Allegretti. The Old Racing car company have had a few through their hands.
These have a value where you can still race with impunity, and totally accurate/faithful to the original.