Sotheby’s in New York is set to sell a 1962 250 Ferrari GTO for an estimated $60 million this fall, which is one of only 34 ever made.
The race car, which is due to go up for grabs as part of the auction houses major fall sales series, is one of two GTO models raced by Ferrari’s own team, Scuderia Ferrari.
GTO models are coveted by collectors of classic cars due to their history, Gord Duff, head of global auctions for RM Sotheby’s told the Wall Street Journal.
With an asking price of around $60 million, the car had initially sold for $6,000 in 1964, the equivalent to around $59,000 today.
In 1985, it was then purchased for around $500,000, around $1.4 million today, by Ohio man Jim Jaeger, 75.
The race car, which is due to go up for grabs as part of the auction houses major fall sales series, is one of two GTO models raced by Ferrari’s own team, Scuderia Ferrari
With an asking price of around $60 million, the car had initially sold for $6,000 in 1964, the equivalent to around $59,000 today
Jaeger told the outlet he had been looking for the ultimate Ferrari during the 1980s and realized that he wanted a GTO.
After scouring Europe for one of the rare models, he bumped into someone who knew an owner selling the exact model he wanted.
The car was located just hours from his home in Cincinnati in Detroit, paying around half a million for it.
He told the WSJ: ‘After looking over the car and driving it, I knew that this was the one. It was a car that could also be enjoyed around town.’
Jaeger added: ‘This car strikes every nerve in your body when you drive it.’
Alongside the promotional content for the car, Sotheby’s added that the car is the only factory owned GTO that had been raced by Scuderia Ferrari.
The car came 2nd overall during the 1962 Nürburgring 1,000km 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 one a kind 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 that had been raced by Scuderia Ferrari
The car came 2nd overall during the 1962 Nürburgring 1,000km race, and was driven at the 1962 Les Mans
Ferrari only ever made 34 of the coveted cars, which is expected to sell for $60 million
Duff said that the sale of the Mercedes last year proved to the house that it wasn’t just car collectors who were interested.
He said: ‘We wanted to be able to expose this car not just to the collector car market, but to the entire market of collectible items.’
Ferraris remain one of the most sought-after race cars in the world, and among the most exclusive.
In July of this year, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE with missing seats, holes in the floor and in general poor condition was auctioned off for £110,000 ($140,000).
The 250 GTO comes with documentation, including factory build sheets and magazine features
GTO models are coveted by collectors of classic cars due to their history
The car had been stored in a leaking barn in west Wales, United Kingdom, 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 was hanging off, leaving wires exposed.
Due to the poor state of the barn it had been kept in, the outside blue body of the car was covered in a combination of rust and lichen.
