2. Racing record | Ferrari 250 GTO
Ready to start which would be a incredible run of results (victorious in 86% of the GT Championship races up to 1963), the reality is that part of the GTO's substantial win record was due to a lack of rivals in its category: neither Jaguar or Aston Martin got involved in the championship seriously nor their cars shone in the great races like Le Mans. Also the mayority of privateers chose Ferrari for racing, adding up valuable points towards the final standings.
Things only almost changed in 1964. Ferrari had the 250 LM ready to replace the GTO and, inexplicably, they thought this new mid-engine car would be homologated just as another variant of the 250 SWB. Obviously it didn't turn out that way and after harsh discussion with FIA Ferrari had no other option but to rebody urgently four existing GTO cars with new enhanced skins and defend the title with them (chassis 3413GT, 4091GT, 4399GT and 4675GT). They managed to do it by a mere 6,3 points. Carroll Shelby and his Cobra roadsters and Daytona coupes sprang a surprise that year and would finally conquer the title in 65, again with Ferrari suffering homologation problems with the racing version of their brand-new 275 GTB road car.
Motorgrafico #002
2. Racing record | Ferrari 250 GTO
After sixty years, the GTO is still winning...
Last August the chassis seen in these pages (3851GT) sold in public auction for more than $38 million dollars, breaking all existing records to date. Bonhams auction house, which also held the previous top price with a Mercedes-Benz W196 formula 1 car, improves this way its best result by a notorious 28%.
Not taking into account opaque private sales (which could have already beaten this figure), these results put an end to the 1931 Bugatti Royale Kernell Coupe reign as the “world's most expensive car”. Christie's sold it in 1987 for £5,5 million pounds, an operation seen by many as the real birth of the classic car market and the inmese world that surround them now.
Remaining places in the standings are also occupied by Ferrari cars in their majority, with RM Auctions managing the best lots: they sold two 250 (one Testa Rossa, the other a California) in 2008 and 2009 respectively, and have raised a spectacular 275 GTB/4 Speciale to the third place also this summer.
Wether these operations are plain investment or new owners actually intend to drive this marvels remains to be seen. In the case of our GTO the car was put up for auction by an investment group, that curiously had adquired it just two month earlier...
Price evolution of the most expensive cars sold at public auction (2014-corrected figures)
Motorgrafico #002
