At an RM Sotheby’s auction on November 13 in New York City, a 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO built by the renowned Italian coachbuilder Scaglietti sold for $51.7 million. It was the priciest Ferrari auction sale ever, as well as the priciest historic car sold in a public setting worldwide this year.
The auction house stated that the bright red roadster, which had been owned by an American collector for the previous 38 years, was only outbid by a Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which sold for 135 million euros in 2022. With the exchange rate of today, that would be $144 million.
Before it was sold, the automobile belonged to Jim Jaeger, a well-known collector in Ohio and co-founder of the business that produced Escort radars. RM Sotheby’s representative declined to reveal the identity of the new owner.
This iconic 1962 Scuderia sports car, chassis 3765, with a four-liter engine producing 390 horsepower, was sold by RM Sotheby’s. It had placed second in a 1,000-kilometer endurance race at the German Nurburgring circuit and was forced to withdraw from the storied 24 Hours of Le Mans due to engine failure.
In the late 1960s, the car was marketed and shipped to the US following several years of competition in Sicily and on the Italian mainland.
The 250 GTO was modified and restored, and its American owners traded it multiple times before it was acquired by a “dedicated collector” in Ohio in 1985, who sold it on Monday.
The auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s in New York wrap up their fall art auctions this week. Despite the economic downturn, these sales have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars.
Top of the list of most costly automobiles sold this year is the V-12 racer. A 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta that sold for $30.2 million on August 17 was the previous record high. Ferraris, the de facto blue-chip assets of the auto industry, have had a stellar year: According to information gathered by Classic.com, a website that sells classic automobiles and keeps track of their valuations, 12 out of the top 15 cars that were sold at auction this year had the prancing pony logo.
