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Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy.</s>A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is the most expensive car sold at auction. (Photo: Supplied)

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is the most expensive car sold at auction. (Photo: Supplied)

WHO said cars weren't a good investment? Definitely not the lucky few who own a 1960s Ferrari GTO who are cashing in on their investment with the iconic sports coupe fetching mega bucks at auction.

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold this weekend at the RM Sotherby's auction at Monterey, California, for a world record auction price of $US48.4 million ($66m). This exact model last traded hands in 2000 for $US7 million (then $11.86m).

In June, a 1963 GTO became the most expensive car ever sold when it changed hands privately for a whopping $US70 million ($96.6m).

David MacNeil is reported to have paid the almost $100 million record price for the classic prancing horse. MacNeil made his fortune as the founder of car floor mats maker WeatherTech.

A 1962 GTO set the previous auction record when the hammer fell at $US38 million (then $40.4m) in 2014 at a Bonhams auction in California.

The key to the GTO's stratospheric price is the car's rarity - just 36 were built between 1962 and 1964 - and racing pedigree.

The record setting GTO was the third example built and one the few that received body updates from notable Ferrari coachbuilder Scaglietti.

The GTO that went to auction had won 15 class and overall wins in the 1962-1965 GT racing series.

A Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III is the most expensive Australian car to date. The classic Aussie muscle car sold for more than $1 million at auction in Bathurst in June. The seven-figure price is a long way from the original $5000 showroom sticker in 1971. The record setting model was once owned by Australian fast bowling legend Jeff Thomson.

If pre-owned cars are not your thing, the most expensive new car on sale in Australia is the Pagani Huayra Roadster which retails for $5.5 million (plus on-road costs).

The Australian Pagani is one of 100 examples globally and is built by hand - each vehicle takes four months to complete.</s>A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold at auction for $48.4 million on Saturday night, successfully breaking the world record for the most expensive car ever to be sold at auction. The pristine Prancing Horse sold at the RM Sotheby's auction in Monterey, California, where its bidding started at a hefty $35 million. As this video shows, bids climbed incrementally during the seven-minute-long bidding extravaganza, eventually reaching a hammer price of $44 million—just slightly short of its $45-million estimate. An additional 10 percent commission was added on top of the winning bid, netting an out-the-door price of $4,405,000.

This particular 250 GTO is chassis number 3413 GT and it was the third vehicle built by Ferrari. It was driven in the 1962 Targa Florio by reigning Formula 1 world champion Phil Hill, and in the hands of Gianni Bulgari the following two years. This particular car was last sold in 2000 to Dr. Greg Whitten, a software lead at Microsoft during the company's ascent. Whitten raced it on multiple occasions. "My journey with the 250 GTO has come to an end, but I am excited to see how this fantastic car is enjoyed by the new owner," Dr. Whitten told Auto Classics. "They will have seen the seemingly unbelievable list of superlatives that are used to describe it—legendary, historic, holy grail—but I can assure them that once they get behind the wheel, they will understand that every one of them is true."

"This marks just the third time that a GTO has been offered for public sale in the new millennium," said car specialist for RM Sotheby's Shelby Myers. Another 250 GTO was sold privately earlier this year for an alleged $80 million to the CEO of Weathertech. It's believed that the 250 GTO—the most valuable model of car in the world by far—may cross the $100 million threshold within the next few decades. We can only wait to find out if that'll be true.</s>A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48. 4 million at RM Sotheby's annual Monterey collector car sale -- a world record for any car ever sold at auction.



 Up until now, a 1962-63 Ferrari GTO, which sold for $38 million at a 2014 Bonhams auction held that distinction. These prices include a 10% "buyer's premium" paid to the auction company. 



Every August, the days leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance classic car show in California are filled with events for high-end car collectors. These include auctions at which record prices are often paid for the most desirable cars... 



Read Article</s>A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4 million at RM Sotheby's annual Monterey collector car sale -- a world record for any car ever sold at auction.

Up until now, a 1962-63 Ferrari GTO, which sold for $38 million at a 2014 Bonhams auction held that distinction. These prices include a 10% "buyer's premium" paid to the auction company.

Every August, the days leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance classic car show in California are filled with events for high-end car collectors. These include auctions at which record prices are often paid for the most desirable cars.

Cars have sold for far more in private transactions than at public auctions. Another Ferrari 250 GTO, a 1963 model, recently privately sold for the widely reported price of $70 million.

Related: The classic car industry could be hurt by tariffs

Classic Ferrari GTOs are extraordinarily valuable for a number of reasons. First, they were, and are, simply very beautiful cars. Second, these were some of Ferrari's most successful racing cars. There have been more successful models, such as the 250 LM, which has its engine mounted behind the driver, but the front-engined GTO is more popular because it's easier to live with and drive.

"The 250 GTO, you open the door like you do on your car, you get in and you go," said RM Sotheby's car specialist Jake Auerbach in an interview weeks before the sale. "It really is that simple."

All 36 of the 250 GTOs ever made are still running and their ownership has created a very exclusive club. Ferrari 250 owners know one another and sometimes get together for road rallies.

"The GTO tours are, as far as that level of net worth goes, the ultimate event and there really is only one way to get in and that's to own one of the 36 cars," said Auerbach.

The record-setting GTO that sold at the RM Sotheby's auction on Saturday won the 1962 Italian GT championship, and notched over 15 race victories from 1962 to 1965. Among its drivers were Phil Hill, who is most famous as the first American to be a Formula 1 World Champion. He drove this Ferrari as his practice car before the Targa Florio race in 1962. Gianni Bulgari, later president of his family's jewelry company, raced the car in 1963. Other prominent drivers also spent time in its driver's seat.

This particular GTO was only the third one built, but it was given a new body in 1963, incorporating design changes for improved aerodynamics and handling. This made the car better suited for an upcoming race, the Targa Florio in Sicily, that took place on winding roads demanding quick cornering. The Ferrari finished fifth overall, but won in its class in a race in which more than half the cars didn't finish at all.</s>A rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO became the most-expensive car ever sold at auction when it went for $48.4 million at an RM Sotheby’s event in Monterey, Calif., on Saturday.

The red coupe is one of just 36 that were made, each slightly unique.

It has an impressive racing pedigree, with a national championship and several major wins under its seatbelts during its competitive career in the 1960s and has been a fixture on the historic racing circuit.

Incredibly, unlike most racing cars, it has never been wrecked and repaired.

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Owned since 2000 by former Microsoft executive Greg Whitten, it was purchased by an anonymous bidder for a hammer price of $44 million, which translates to $48.4 million after auction fees.

The price broke the $38 million auction record set by a similar car in 2014. However, another GTO reportedly changed hands in a private sale for $70 million earlier this year.

WHAT MAY BE THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE FORD PINTO SOLD FOR $33,000</s>A red 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4-million on Saturday in California, the most ever paid for a classic car at auction.

The vehicle was offered by RM Sotheby’s in Monterey, and was estimated to fetch between $45-million and $60-million, the highest valuation ever for a vintage auto at auction. It smashed the previous record of $38.1-million paid for a 1963 model of the same car in 2014.

The seller was Greg Whitten, chairman of Numerix Software Ltd. and an early Microsoft Corp. employee, who purchased it in 2000. Sotheby’s declined to say how much he bought it for, but said the market price for such Ferraris at the time was about $10-million.

Ferrari built just 36 examples of the model from 1953 to 1964, and these elegant race cars have generated the highest prices among all vintage automobiles in recent years. A 1963 version sold for $70-million in a private transaction earlier this year, according to Sotheby’s.

The record price includes the buyer’s premium based on the hammer price of $44-million, calculated at 12 per cent on the first $250,000 and 10 per cent on the remainder.

Sign up for the weekly Drive newsletter, delivered to your inbox for free. Follow us on Instagram, @globedrive.</s>RM/Sotheby's auctions at Monterey Week lived up to its billing, with renown car collector Greg Whitten’s fabled 1962 Ferrari 260 GTO, chassis 3413, the star of Saturday night auction, fetching $44 million in just 12 minutes of vivacious bidding in a room absolutely buzzing with excitement. The winning bid was placed on behalf of an agent, with the winner bidder not yet known at press time. The extremely rare Ferrari was widely considered to be the most valuable vehicle to ever come to auction as detailed here.

“I’m very happy,” says seller Greg Whitten, clinking champagne surrounded by his wife and close friends.

The market for Ferrari 250 GTOs continues to grow, selling for eye-popping figures. Just this past June, German race car driver Christian Glaesel sold his 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis 4153, for somewhere between $70 million and $80 million in a private sale to WeatherTech floor mats founder David MacNeil. In 2014, chassis 3851 sold for $38.1 million at auction, at that time the most expensive car ever auctioned. Another rumored private sale by American collector Paul Pappalardo in 2013 estimates his 250 GTO sold for around $52 million.

Ferrari historian and expert Marcel Massini recently told CNBC he expects a similar car to the $70-million plus chassis 4153 will sell for over $100 million in the next two to three years. Current 250 GTO owners include Ralph Lauren; Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason; Peter Sachs, grandson of Goldman Sachs founder Samuel Sachs; and Jon Shirley, of Microsoft. Three currently own two 250 GTOs, including hedge fund founders Tony and Lulu Wang, (unrelated to U.K.-based owner Brandon Wang), Rob Walton of Wal-Mart, and British businessman Sir Anthony Bamford, who for a brief time once owned the chassis which just sold. Should any of them decide to sell, and with Whitten’s car setting a new high mark, that $100 million dollar mark inches ever closer.

The success of the RM/Sotheby's auction bucks a vintage car market that has cooled since 2013, when aggressive investors crowded the field, seeking post-recession deals. According to José Luis Celada, a Buenos Aries vintage car collector interviewed by the New York Times here, the opportunists are less active, leaving the market once again to specialists, which also means few buyers. But vintage Ferraris continue to rank amongst the most preferred, especially those in pristine, and preferably running, condition.</s>Classic cars are quite the investment!

At the RM Sotheby’s automobile auction in Monterey, California, on Saturday, August 25, an extremely rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was picked up for a cool $48.4 million, which is a new auction record.

The classic car was driven onto the auction block by five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell. It was being sold by renowned car collector Greg Whitten, who was the vehicle’s owner for approximately 18 years.

The opening bid was $35 million, noted Automobile magazine, and increased until the hammer fell at $44 million. The bidding frenzy lasted just 12 minutes, according to Forbes. Once the buyer’s commission was added, the final price of the shiny red beauty was $48.4 million.

Since the bid was placed via an agent, the identity of the car’s new owner has yet to be revealed.

“My journey with the 250 GTO has come to an end, but I am excited to see how this fantastic car is enjoyed by the new owner,” said Whitten, the former chief software architect at Microsoft and now the chairman of Numerix, according to Sports Car Digest. “They will have seen the seemingly unbelievable list of superlatives that are used to describe it — legendary, historic, holy grail — but I can assure them that once they get behind the wheel, they will understand that every one of them is true.”

“The 250 GTO that sold is one of fewer than 40 cars built, and is widely considered to be the most desirable Ferrari model ever built due to the story of its creation, its success on track in period, and its legacy as the last Ferrari race car that was equally at home being driven on the track as it was on the street,” explained Automobile mag’s expert.

“Because 250 GTOs were built to race, many were heavily crashed or received replacement powertrains. While this car, originally a more desirable Series 1 example, did receive new Series 2 bodywork in period, the work was commissioned by the factory, and the car went on to win the Targa Florio with its new sheetmetal. The car miraculously still retains its original engine and gearbox after all its years of racing, which undoubtedly helped the car’s value when it crossed the block.”

Before this car became the highest-selling vehicle ever auctioned off, another Ferrari 250 GTO held the record. At Bonhams’ 2014 Quail Lodge sale, the winning bidder paid just over $38 million for the car.

However, Forbes reported that in a private sale this past June, race car driver Christian Glaesel sold his 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO to WeatherTech founder David MacNeil for somewhere between $70 million and $80 million.</s>(Bloomberg) -- A red 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4 million on Saturday in California, the most ever paid for a classic car at auction.

The vehicle was offered by RM Sotheby’s in Monterey, and was estimated to fetch between $45 million and $60 million, the highest valuation ever for a vintage auto at auction. It smashed the previous record of $38.1 million paid for a 1963 model of the same car in 2014.

The seller was Greg Whitten, chairman of Numerix Software Ltd. and an early Microsoft Corp. employee, who purchased it in 2000. Sotheby’s declined to say how much he bought it for, but said the market price for such Ferraris at the time was about $10 million.

Ferrari built just 36 examples of the model from 1953 to 1964, and these elegant race cars have generated the highest prices among all vintage automobiles in recent years. A 1963 version sold for $70 million in a private transaction earlier this year, according to Sotheby’s.

The record price includes the buyer’s premium based on the hammer price of $44 million, calculated at 12 percent on the first $250,000 and 10 percent on the remainder.

To contact the reporter on this story: Frederik Balfour in Hong Kong at fbalfour@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen, Stanley James
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is sold for $48.4 million at an auction in California, making it the most expensive car ever sold through auction.