A 1962 Ferrari auctions for world-record $70 million (2024)

NEW YORK – A 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO by Scaglietti, the covetedItalian coachbuilder, sold for US$51.7 million (S$70.2 million) at an RM Sotheby’s auction on Monday in New York City.

It was the most expensive Ferrari ever to sell at auction and the most expensive classic car sold publicly anywhere in the world this year.

Mr Jim Jaeger, a prominent collector in Ohioandco-founder of the company that came to manufacture Escort radars,owned the car for nearly four decades prior to the sale. A spokesperson from RM Sotheby’s did not identify the new owner.

The finalhammer price was US$47 million - a buyer’s premium of 10 per cent took the tally of its total price to US$51.7 million.Despite the record, the final sale price was lower than expectations. In the days leading up to the sale, RM Sotheby’s had listed the value of the vehicle “in excess”of US$60 million.

“Its place in history is undisputed,”Mr Oliver Barker,chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, said at the beginning of the sale.

The car sold in less than 20 minutes and started at US$34 million. Bidding stayed consistent between primarily phone bidders and ended in the final moments as twobidders waffled around US$47 million. Both the car, and the winning bidder, werephysically present during the sale, a spokesperson confirmed.

The V-12 racer takes the top spot of the most expensive cars sold this year.The previous high was a 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta that sold for US$30.2 million on Aug 17.

It has been a banner year for Ferraris, the de facto blue-chip assets of the car world: All told, 12of the top 15cars soldat auction this yearbore theprancing pony badge, according to data compiled by Classic.com, a website that sells collectible cars and tracks their values.

“That part of the market has not changed one bit,” says Mr Juan Diego Calle, thefounder and chief executive officer of Classic.com.

Painted scarletand bearing aNo. 7 racing livery, the car is special because it is the only Ferrari GTO example originally equipped with a four-litre engine and the only factory GTO Tipo 1962to have been raced by Scuderia Ferrari. In 1962, it earned a class win and a second-place finish overall at theNürburgring 1,000km race. In 2012, it wonthe Best in Show award at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida.

However, it does not come close to the most expensive car ever sold at auction, which was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sold for US$142 million in 2022.

But theGTO Tiporeflects the strength and stability of themarket for the best Ferraris even during uncertain economic times. Other high sellers in 2023include the1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that sold for around US$18 million at a Gooding & Co. auction on March 2 and a1964 Ferrari 250 LM that sold for €15.7 million (S$22.8 million) at an Artcurial auction on July 5.

Previously,the most expensive Ferrari ever sold in public wasa1962 Ferrari 250 GTO thattook US$48.4 million at an RM Sotheby’s auction in 2018, aspokesperson for the auction house confirmed. That one, which has a stronger racing history, is considered by marque experts to be one of the most authentic and original of all GTO examples, the RM Sotheby’s catalogue said at the time.

But the fact that this one, Chassis 3765, was a Ferrari factory entry at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, in addition to its class win at the Nurburgring and its multiple racing entries by Scuderia as a works car makes it very unique, a spokesperson said.Private sales of Ferraris have included prices that soared near US$70 million, according to some reports.

Elsewhere, the collector car market has cooled.As of Nov 3, overall classic car sales totals for the year are down 23.4 per cent year over year, from US$321.4 million in 2022 to US$245.9 million this year, according to Classic.com. The annual auctions during Monterey Car Week, considered the bellwetherfor market values,reached a little more than US$400 million across five auction houses, down from US$473 million last year.BLOOMBERG