Ferrari 250 GTO sets world auction record selling for $34.65 million

(August 15, 2014) CARMEL, Calif. — A rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO once owned by a famed racing driver and Olympic gold medalist Henri Oreiller was sold for $34.65 million Thursday at an auction during Monterey Car Week. It is believed to be a record public auction price for a classic car, topping the nearly $30 million paid for a Mercedes W196 last year in England.

The car is one of just 39 Ferrari GTOs produced. Chassis 3851 GT, the 19th of the 39, took second place in its first outing, at the 1962 Tour de France Automobile with its first owner, French racer Jo Schlesser, behind the wheel. At its second outing, however, Parisian Oreiller, who co-drove with Schlesser in the Tour de France, died at the wheel of the GTO in a crash that severely damaged the car.

Schleser sent the GTO back to Maranello to have it rebuilt and it reappeared in 1963 with a new owner, Paolo Colombo, who continued to race it in hillclimbs and track events — as did its next owner, Ernesto Prinoth.

Fabrizio Violati then bought 3851 GT in 1965 and used it primarily as a road car, reportedly hiding it from his family by only taking it out at night. Eventually, he built up a collection of rare Italian sports cars — the Maranello Rosso collection — but held on to the GTO until his death in 2010.

Bidding started at $10 million, quickly rose to $20 million and $30 million, then scaled its way up to the hammer price of $34.65 million — $38.115 million including premiums. All 10 cars from the Maranello Rosso collection at Bonhams sold, for a combined $65.945 million.

Source: Press reports