If money was no object and you want to splash out on a classic luxury car, then bidding on the this Ferrari 250 GTO in August is a must!
An example of the most famous and sought-after classic cars in the world, the Ferrari 250 GTO, is being sold at auction on August 14. With the market buoyant, it might even beat last year’s record price when one was sold in the US for $52 million (£30.5 million).
The 1962 250 GTO is said to have been in one family’s care for 49 years, from 1965 until now. It is being sold at the Bonhams Quail Lodge auction, which is part of the Monterey Peninsula Car Week in California from August 11-17, which includes events such as the famed Pebble Beach concours d’élégance and events at the nearby Laguna Seca racing circuit. This year, in addition to collections of mouth watering cars and displays of car culture, there are special events for owners of significant cars from Porsche and Lamborghini.
Such is the lure of the event among classic car enthusiasts and collectors that major auction houses all hold huge, high-profile sales during Car Week.
The 250 GTO was designed to race and the O of its designation stands for “omologato” or homologation special. The competition rules stipulated that 100 examples had to be built, although Ferrari somehow got away with making only 39 of them.
The Maranello Rosso Collection car, chassis number 3851 GT, was the 19th 250 GTO Berlinetta in sequence and was completed on September 11, 1962. It was delivered to the French racer Jo Schlesser, to be co-driven by himself and French skiing champion Henri Oreiller in the 1962 Tour de France Automobile road race. The pair challenged for victory and finished second overall. The car was then crashed during a race at Montlhery and was returned to Maranello for repair, before being sold to Italian gentleman driver Paolo Colombo before the 1963 racing season.
Source http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/classiccars/10983614/Ferrari-250-GTO-at-auction.html