Ferrari 250 GTO

$45 Million 

If classic Ferraris are the gold standard of the collector-car market, the 250 GTO is the marque’s most coveted nugget. Just 36 examples with the three-liter V-12 engine were built between 1962 and 1964—33 Series I cars and three Series IIs from 1964 with 250 LM-style bodywork. New, a GTO would have cost about $18,000. By 1986, however, the cars were commanding $1 million.  In 2014, a prime example was hammered in at Bonhams’ Monterey auction for more than $38 million, and just this past May, chassis 4153 sold privately for some $70 million, possibly more.

Collectors hoping to own one of these rarities have a chance this month when the third GTO to roll off the Ferrari factory floor goes under the gavel at Sotheby’s Monterey Auction August 24 to 25. Built in 1962, chassis 3413 was driven by Phil Hill as a test car for that year’s Targa Florio road race. The car—identified by its notchback design—received a factory Series II body from Carrozzeria Scaglietti in 1964. Poised to set a new record as the most expensive car ever offered at auction, the Ferrari, which has an unbroken provenance since new, is expected to race past $45 million.

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View of the iconic automobile 

Photo: Patrick Ernzen