The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis number 3413) has become one of the most valuable cars ever sold at an auction when the hammer went down for a bid of 48.4 million dollars, Rs 337 crores approx. Auctioned by the famous auctioneer RM Sotheby at the Monterey car week at Pebble Beach, the Ferrari is the third car built out of the 36 250 GTOs ever built by the Italian car maker.
This rare gem of a car has an unmatched racing pedigree as it was used as an official Ferrari test-car and has won the Italian GT championship, winning all-but-one races in the series in 1962. It also won its class at the Targa Florio in 1963 and 64, thus finishing all 20 races in its career without an incident. This 250 GTO has a Scaglietti-built Series 2 body and still drives with the same engine, gearbox and the rear axle that were fitted on the car when it was built.
The car is believed to have gone to an already star-studded collection in America as Dr. Gregory Whitten, the previous owner decided to part with his trophy after 18 years.