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Sotheby’s in New York is set to sell a 1962 Ferrari GTO 250 for an estimated $60 million this fall, which is one of 34 ever made.
The race car, which will be up for grabs as part of the auction houses’ main fall sales series, is one of two GTO models being competed by Ferrari’s own team, Scuderia Ferrari.
GTO models are coveted by classic car collectors because of their history, Gord Duff, head of global auctions for RM Sotheby’s, told Wall Street Journal.
With a starting price of around $60 million, the car initially sold for $6,000 in 1964, the equivalent of around $59,000 today.
In 1985, it was purchased for about $500,000, about $1.4 million today, by Jim Jaeger, a 75-year-old Ohio man.
The race car, which will be up for grabs as part of the auction houses’ biggest fall sales series, is one of two GTO models raced by Ferrari’s own team, Scuderia Ferrari.
With a starting price of around $60 million, the car initially sold for $6,000 in 1964, the equivalent of around $59,000 today.
Jaeger told the outlet that he had been looking for the latest Ferrari during the 1980s and realized he wanted a GTO.
After touring Europe in search of one of the rare models, he came across someone who knew an owner who sold the exact model he wanted.
The car was located a few hours from his home in Cincinnati in Detroit, paying about half a million for it.
He told the WSJ: ‘After looking at the car and driving it, I knew this was the one. It was a car that could also be enjoyed in the city”.
Jaeger added: “This car hits every nerve in your body when you drive it.”
Along with promotional content for the car, Sotheby’s added that the car is the only factory-owned GTO to have raced for Scuderia Ferrari.
The car came second overall during the 1962 Nürburgring 1,000 km race and was driven at the 1962 Les Mans.
Last May, Sotheby’s sold a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupe for $142 million, which is currently the most expensive car ever sold at auction.
The car was unique and never intended to be sold on the open market, unlike the GTO.
Sotheby’s added that the car is the only factory-owned GTO to have raced for Scuderia Ferrari.
The car placed second overall during the 1962 Nürburgring 1,000 km race and was driven at the 1962 Les Mans.
Ferrari only made 34 of the coveted cars, which are expected to sell for $60 million.
Duff said the sale of the Mercedes last year showed the house that it wasn’t just car collectors who were interested.
He said: “We wanted to be able to expose this car to not just the collector car market, but the entire collectibles market.”
Ferraris remain one of the most sought-after race cars in the world, and one of the most exclusive.
In July this year, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE with missing seats, holes in the floor and generally in poor condition was auctioned for £110,000 ($140,000).
The 250 GTO comes with documentation including factory build sheets and magazine features.
GTO models are coveted by classic car collectors due to their history
The car had been stored in a leaky barn in West Wales, UK, for 40 years when it was discovered.
Inside, the car was missing two front seats and its gearbox, the carpet had deteriorated, and the radio and control column were dangling, leaving the wires exposed.
Due to the disrepair of the barn in which it had been kept, the car’s exterior blue bodywork was covered in a combination of rust and lichen.
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