Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HIGHER PURCHASE
Classic ‘holy grail’ Ferrari sells for auction world record of £37m Same price would buy 2,697 Ford Fiestas or 102 Rolls-royce Phantoms
A FERRARI regarded as the “holy grail” of motoring has sold for a record £37million at auction.
The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is the third of only 39 of the 174mph racing cars built by the Italian manufacturer.
It went under the hammer on behalf of former Microsoft chief software architect and car lover Dr Greg Whitten.
He said: “I am excited to see how this fantastic car is enjoyed by the new owner.
“They will have seen the seemingly unbelievable list of superlatives used to describe it – legendary, historic, holy grail – I can assure them once they get behind the wheel, they will understand every one of them is true.”
The three-litre V12, known as Chassis 3413 GT, won the 1962 Italian National GT Championship and the Targa Florio in 1963 and 1964.
Its previous British owners include JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford and Sir Lindsay Owenjones, former boss of L’oreal.
Auctioneer RM Sotheby’s sold it for $48,405,000 (£37million) as part of Monterey Car Week in California.
The new owner could have bought 2,697 Ford Fiestas or 102 Rolls-royce Phantoms with the money – but it is much less than the record a GTO has sold for privately. An American paid $70million (£52million) this year for a 1963 model which won the 1964 Tour de France.