1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Becomes Most Expensive Car Ever Offered at Auction

There was a time not so long ago where the prices of rare and classic cars were stagnating -- and in some cases even crashing. Those days now appear to be well and truly consigned to history as the market is now positively booming. For evidence of this, look no further than a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that's set to be auctioned at RM Sotheby's Monterey, California sale in August, which comes with an estimate of $45 million.

That figure makes the car the most expensive ever offered for sale at auction, although it's still a long way short of being the most expensive car ever sold, even if it reaches that massive estimate. That honor belongs to another Ferrari 250 GTO, which was a 1963 example sold in a private sale for a simply staggering $70 million. It's believed all the 250 GTOs built between 1962 and 1964 are still in existence, and they're all going to be worth an awful lot of money whatever condition they are currently in.

This particular example being auctioned by RM Sotheby has the chassis number 3413GT, and it began its life as a works car tested by the American racing driver Phil Hill in 1962 at the Targq Florio race. Chassis number 3413GT was the third car built in a production run of just 36 units, and it won a number of races while it was with its first private owner, Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi.

It's 18 years now since this particular 250 GTO was last sold, and back then in 2000 it went for what was already a great deal of money as it sold for some $7 million that time around. Since then the car hasn't been locked away in some air conditioned vault either. It's actually been shown at countless classic car events and vintage races, and the auction house says the car has been maintained in what it calls "highly original" condition.

In 2014 another GTO set an auction record of $38 million, so it will be interesting to see if this one manages to top that. Considering how these cars have increased in value over the last two decades, the amount the 1963 model sold for in that private sale, and the auction estimate of $45, another new record is highly likely.