Luxury News: Vintage Ferrari Coupe on the Road to Becoming the Most Expensive Car

Goodale Miller Team

08/28/14

Auctioned for as high as $75 million to vintage car collectors, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta may break a previous world record soon and officially become the world’s most expensive car.
 
The two-seater red coupe, which has been owned by one of the heirs of a wealthy Italian family, is a part of a recent Bonhams vintage cars auction which is estimated to achieve a total sales of more than $450 million by Hagerty Group LLC.
 

Set to Break Previous Records

In October last year, Bloomberg News reported that a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO racer was named as the world’s most expensive car after it was sold for $52 million via a private transaction. According to Hagerty’s estimates, the 1962 model which is being auctioned as this article is being written may net as high as $50 to $75 million, making it a contender to break the previously set record.
 
Bonhams is keeping their estimate more conservative though at around $30 to $40 million. Bonhams chairman Robert Brooks is confident that the car will be auctioned off at that price and it would still be enough to beat another record for the world’s most expensive car sold at an auction; an honor which is currently held by a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 racing car which their auction house sold in 2013 for a whopping $28.7 million.
 

The Car’s History

Bonhams shares that the Ferrari 250 GTO was bought by Fabrizio Violati in 1965 and that the car earned second place honors at the 1962 Tour de France Automobile race. Violati, the car’s fourth and last owner who died in 2010; hails from a wealthy Italian family who amassed their fortune from mineral water bottling and agriculture businesses.
 
The Ferrari 250 GTO is set to be sold with 9 other Ferraris from Violati’s Maranello Rosso collection at the Bonhams August 2014 auction.
 

The Auction

More than 100 vintage and luxury cars are part of the Bonhams auction which is to be held at Pebble Beach golf course and at the picture-perfect towns of Monterey and Carmel. With last year’s auction fetching $312 million, Hagerty, a Michigan-based insurer and classic car database says that this year’s auction may reach near the half billion dollars mark at around $450 million.
 
The demand for vintage luxury cars is actually rising, as indicated by rising sales from the last few years as well as the growing number of vintage car collectors who frequent auction events. The Historic Automobile Group International’s Dietrich Hatlapa counters that the sales growth could be a bit lower this year compared to last year as is supported by statistical data.
 
The Concours d’Elegance website says the auction event will be featuring several auction houses with a total of around 160 vintage cars which will be showcased at a scenic 80-mile drive from Pebble Beach to Big Sur. The vintage vehicles as well as motorcycles will be displayed at the golf links and judged for their technical merit and style and historical accuracy, a true showing of style and elegance for connoisseurs of vintage cars!
 
Feel like cruising the streets of Oakville with your very own vintage car on your way to a beautiful Oakville luxury home? Getting the car would be up to you but we can help you on getting the keys to the luxury home of your dreams. Contact us today!
 

Work With Us

Our approach at the Goodale Miller Team is simple: investing in your success is an investment in our success. We deliver world class marketing, in-depth market intelligence and calibrated negotiation savvy.

Let's Connect

GET TO KNOW US ON INSTAGRAM