AFP | New York
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sports car sold for $51.7 million in New York on Monday, making it the second most expensive car ever sold at auction, Sotheby’s said.
The bright red roadster has been in the possession of an American collector for the past 38 years, and its winning price was only surpassed by a Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhout Coupe, which sold for 135 million euros in 2022, the auction house said. Stated.
At current exchange rates, that’s $144 million.
The 250 GTO went on sale after several minutes of bidding at the auction house, but the price fell short of the more than $60 million that the auction house’s luxury car subsidiary RM Sotheby’s had expected.
Sotheby’s has not revealed the winning bidder. Born in 1962, the legendary Scuderia sports car (chassis 3765, 4-liter engine developing 390 hp) was used for his 1,000 km (620 mi) race at Germany’s Nürburgring circuit and his legendary 24 I came second to him in the time race. According to RM Sotheby’s, the team was forced to retire from Le Mans due to engine failure.
After several years of competition in mainland Italy and Sicily, the car was sold and exported to the United States in the late 1960s.
The restored and modified 250 GTO changed hands several times, with American owners, and finally ended up in the hands of an “avid collector” in Ohio in 1985, where it was sold on Monday.
Sotheby’s said: “This stunning GTO can offer its next caretaker even more touring and vintage racing fun, or be displayed at major concours d’elegances and brand gatherings around the world.”
The Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhout Coupe, which sold for 135 million euros in 2022, was one of only two examples of this sports car.
An RM Sotheby’s spokesperson told AFP that the car was sold in a secret auction at the German manufacturer’s museum in Stuttgart and is one of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction or privately anywhere in the world. It was said to be expensive.