The Most Valuable Car Ever Sold at Record-Setting Monterey Auction
With $157,931,940 in total sales and 83% of all lots sold, the RM Sotheby’s 2018 Monterey auction was one for the record books. The biggest story of the weekend came Saturday night, when the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO set a new high watermark for the most valuable car ever sold at auction, achieving an astounding $48,400,000.
The GTO was just one of many stand-out results from the two-day sale, which saw the 1963 Aston Martin DP215 Grand Touring Competition Prototype sell for $21,455,000 after an intense round of bidding on the phone desk. The 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II, part of the iconic trio of GT40s that swept the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, reached $9,795,000, while the 1957 Porsche 550A Spyder, an important car in the history of Porsche racing in America, sold for $4,900,000. The strikingly beautiful 1956 Maserati A6G/2000 Zagato set a new record for the model at auction, earning $4,515,000.
We are deeply appreciative of our clients who have entrusted RM Sotheby’s to offer some of the most significant motor cars to ever come to market, and equally grateful to our clients, enthusiasts, and media who traveled from all over the world to attend our sale.
Click below to see all the fantastic auction results, and be sure to follow along as the RM Sotheby’s Group next heads to Auburn, Indiana, for the Labor Day tradition that is the Auburn Fall auction, where over 750 cars will be offered for sale; and to London, UK, where we will be hosting our 12th annual London sale on 5 September at Battersea Evolution.
RM SOTHEBY’S AND ASTON MARTIN CELEBRATE NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH $21,455.000 LOT 141
- RM Sotheby’s become Official Auction Partner to Aston Martin
- One-off Aston Martin DP215 sells for $21,455.000 at Pebble Beach
24 August 2018, Monterey, CA: Aston Martin today announced the formation of a new partnership with RM Sotheby’s, the world’s largest auction house for investment-quality automobiles.
The new partnership got off to the best possible start earlier today when the beautiful 1963 Aston Martin DP215 Grand Touring Competition Prototype went under the auctioneer’s gavel at Pebble Beach for an astonishing $21,455.000. The most significant one-off Aston Martin Works car, the DP215 was driven by Lucien Bianchi and Phil Hill at Le Mans in 1963 and is the final David Brown competition Aston Martin.
“What a great way to start this exciting new partnership,” said Paul Spires, President of Aston Martin Works. “The market for historic cars is booming so it is vital that Aston Martin is represented by the best auction house in the business. RM Sotheby’s give us the opportunity to reach a global audience with their international clientele.”
RM Sotheby’s was formed in 2015, when RM Auctions and Sotheby’s joined together to create an auction powerhouse, providing an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market. Recognised as the No.1 auction house by total value of cars sold and for number of cars sold greater than $1 million in value, RM Sotheby’s was the obvious choice for Aston Martin.
Kenneth Ahn, President, RM Sotheby’s said: “It’s certainly an honor to join Aston Martin in celebrating a milestone anniversary of its motorsport history in 2019 and the exceptional road cars that have come to define the brand. In keeping with RM Sotheby’s record-breaking success in the sale of important Aston Martins at auction, we look forward to presenting the marque’s very best motor cars from around the world in Monterey next year, an auction setting unlike any other.”
Commencing in 2019, RM Sotheby’s will hold an annual Aston Martin single-marque sale, which looks set to become a highlight of Monterey Car Week. Aston Martin’s successful Second Century Plan, which is delivering a new Aston Martin model every year for seven years, also promises two ‘specials’ per year, which are set to become collectibles of the future.
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti
- Sold For $48,405,000RM | Sotheby’s – MONTEREY 2018
- Chassis No.3413 – Engine No.3413 – Gearbox No.5
- The world’s most important, desirable, and legendary motor car
- The third of only 36 GTOs built; considered by marque experts to be one of the most authentic and original of all GTO examples
- One of four upgraded in period by Scaglietti with Series II GTO/64; one of seven to ever receive this more aggressive and successful coachwork
- Driven by Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi to victory in the 1962 Italian GT Championship
- Key contributor to Ferrari’s victory in the 1964 International Championship for GT Manufacturers with its class win in the 1964 Targa Florio
- Over 15 class and overall wins during the 1962–1965 seasons
- 1st in class at the 1963 Targa Florio, driven by Gianni Bulgari and Maurizio Grana
- 1st in class at the 1964 Targo Florio, driven by Corrado Ferlaino and Luigi Taramazzo
- Inspected by both marque specialist Marcel Massini and Ferrari Classiche representatives
- Exclusive access to some of the world’s most prestigious events and rallies, including to the famed GTO club and tours
1962 FERRARI 250 GTO TO HEADLINE RM SOTHEBY’S FLAGSHIP MONTEREY SALE
- The Holy Grail: highly original, numbers-matching 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO set to star at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale, 24-25 August
- One of just 36 built, the GTO boasts successful period racing history, including winning the 1962 Italian National GT Championship (victories in 9 out of 10 races) and 1st in class at the 1963 and 1964 Targa Florio
- Estimated to bring in excess of $45 million, the GTO is the most valuable car ever offered for public sale
BLENHEIM, Ontario (20 June 2018) – RM Sotheby’s is honored to announce that it has secured a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, perhaps the ultimate collector car, for what is set to be its most exciting Monterey auction offering to date.
Ferrari’s 250 GTO was effectively the final evolution of the marque’s famous 250 model, which debuted in 1953 and ended with the last GTOs in 1964. In total, a mere 36 examples of the 250 GTO were ever produced, all of which have survived. Widely considered the most beautiful Ferrari design, the model was one of the most successful road/racing cars that the marque ever built, claiming overall victory or 1st in class in nearly 300 races worldwide. Decades down the road, the Ferrari 250 GTO has become the car collector’s “holy grail”, thanks not only to its incredible pedigree, but to a group of French collectors who organized the first gathering of GTO owners in 1982. Occurring every five years since its inception, the meeting is a glorious driving and dining tour across the country of their choosing, and the only entry into this exclusive club is ownership; making the GTO the hottest ticket in the collector car world.
“We are thrilled at the rare opportunity to offer a legendary Ferrari 250 GTO at auction,” says Shelby Myers, Car Specialist, RM Sotheby’s. “Due to the evolution of technology and safety regulations that followed, the GTO was essentially the final true road racer, marking the end of an era when drivers really got their hands dirty. This was the last car that you could park in your garage, drive to the track, win the race, and then drive home.”
The Ferrari 250 GTO on offer, chassis no. 3413 GT, is the third of the 36 examples built, and began its life as a Series I car. Under Ferrari factory use, the GTO was a test car driven by Phil Hill for the 1962 Targa Florio road race. The car was then sold to its first owner, one of Ferrari’s most favored privateer customers, Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi. The Italian gentleman racer entered the GTO in 10 races in 1962, winning all but one (in which he placed 2nd in class) and securing him the Italian National GT championship that year. Lualdi-Gabardi’s incredible track success with the early GTO, right out of the gate, contributed significantly in cementing what would become the GTO legend and legacy as known today.
Mr. Lualdi-Gabardi received a second GTO in 1963 and sold chassis no. 3413 to then race car driver Gianni Bulgari, who went on to lead the renowned Bulgari jewelry company from the 1960s to the 1980s. Under both Bulgari and subsequent owner Corrado Ferlaino’s ownership, the GTO handily won its class in the 1963 and 1964 Targa Florio. The car contested a total of 20 races in period, never involved in an accident, and not once failing to finish. A rare case and incredible feat for any race car, it retains its original engine, gearbox, and rear axle, as well as its factory Series II body, in which it was clothed by Carrozzeria Scaglietti in 1964.
Following its racing career, the GTO has passed through an unbroken chain of ownership that includes some of the most prominent Ferrari collectors in the hobby. In 2000, it was acquired by current owner Dr. Greg Whitten, Chairman of Numerix, avid collector car enthusiast and former chief software architect at Microsoft. Under Dr. Whitten’s ownership, the GTO has competed in vintage events around the world over the last two decades, as well as four of the lauded GTO anniversary tours. Wonderfully maintained in highly original condition, the GTO is estimated to achieve in excess of $45 million in Monterey, making it the most valuable motor car ever offered at auction.
Myers adds: “This marks just the third time that a GTO has been offered for public sale in the new millennium. I can think of no better place than our flagship Monterey event, an auction that has borne witness to the record-smashing sale of some of the most important cars in history, for the presentation of such an exceptional example of Ferrari’s most successful racer and the world’s most sought-after collector car, full stop. The fact that the GTO exists as it did in period, along with Dr. Whitten’s long-term, enthusiastic ownership, only adds to the car’s impeccable pedigree.”
Held during the world-famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance motoring week, RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale (24-25 August), has been the pinnacle of collector car auctions for more than 30 years, leading the field and raising the bar with its consistent, record-setting results. This year’s Monterey sale is set at the newly reopened Monterey Conference Center following its $60-million-dollar renovation, offering collectors a stunning new experience and a beautiful space for the display and offering of 120 of the world’s most important motor cars in the ultimate collector car destination.
About RM Sotheby’s
RM Sotheby’s is the world’s largest auction house for investment-quality automobiles. With more than 35 years’ experience in the collector car industry, RM’s vertically integrated range of services, from private sales and auctions (including both RM Sotheby’s and RM Auctions events) to estate planning and financial services, coupled with an expert team of car specialists and an international footprint, provide an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market. In February 2015, RM formed a strategic partnership with Sotheby’s, uniting the two companies for the full calendar of future automobile auctions. For further information, visit rmsothebys.com