Luxury 1962 Ferrari Sold at Auction for $51.7 Million

(Patria) - The luxury vehicle Ferrari 250 GTO from 1962 was sold last night in New York for $51.7 million.

It thus became the second most expensive collector's car ever sold at auction, announced the auction house Sotheby.

The vehicle was owned by an American collector for 38 years.

A Ferrari 250 GTO was sold in 2018, also at Sotheby's, for $48 million.

The absolute record holder for auction car sales, the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR Coupe, sold for 135 million euros in May 2022, brought in almost three times more money.

The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was sold last night after several minutes of bidding in the hall, but at a significantly lower price than the record-breaking Mercedes.

After several years of racing in Italy, in Sicily, the Ferrari was sold and exported to the USA in the late 1960s.

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sports car has sold for $51.7 million in New York, making it the second most expensive car ever sold at auction. https://t.co/hZD1QJgltf

— RTÉ Business (@RTEbusiness) November 14, 2023

Restored and modified, this 250 GTO changed American owners several times and finally ended up in the hands of a collector from Ohio in 1985, who sold it yesterday.

Two auction houses in New York – Sotheby's and Christie's – are concluding their autumn art sales season this week, which is reportedly unaffected by crisis, with hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions.

The market is driven by China and Asia and shows no signs of slowing down despite the tense international environment, according to Sotheby's.

"Whatever happens in the financial markets, a vehicle of this caliber is a collector's item, a unique opportunity for a collector," Michael Caimano from Sotheby's told France Presse before the sale, comparing the Ferrari to a work of art that can be "touched, smelled, and heard."