This 1962 Ferrari GTO auctioned for $51.7 million, highest-ever for brand

A 1962 Ferrari GTO was recently auctioned for a massive amount of $51.7 million, breaking the record for the highest amount ever commanded by any Ferrari model at an auction. The 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO by Italian coachmaker Scaglietti was put up for auction by RM Sotheby on November 13 in New York City.

The bidding for the Ferrari GTO began at $34 million and it took all of 20 minutes for the process to end with the final hammer coming down at $47 million. A 10 per cent buyer's premium took the final amount to $51.7 million.

And while this final amount may be a record for any Ferrari ever auctioned, and is now the most expensive buy for a car in 2023, the final amount is still below what was initially expected. Sotheby had listed the value of the unit at over $60 million. “Its place in history is undisputed," Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby's Europe, said at the beginning of the sale.

While the new owner of the Ferrari GTO has not been revealed, this particular unit was previously owned by Ohio-based collector Jim Jaeger for over four decades. There are many unique highlights that make this car extra special - whether it is the No. 7 racing livery or the fact that this is the only Ferrari GTO ever to have been equipped with a four-litre engine and the only factory GTO Tipo 1962 to have been raced by Scuderia Ferrari. In 2012, it won the Best in Show award at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida.

But while the 1962 Ferrari GTO did command big bucks, it remains far off from the most-expensive car to have ever been auctioned. This record belongs firmly to a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe that commanded $142 million in 2022. But the Ferrari GTO still is the most expensive Ferrari ever in an auction with the title previously belonging to a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that fetched $48.4 million at a RM Sotheby’s auction in 2018.