The 1962 model Ferrari auction fetched $51.7 million equal to Rs 15 billion

On Monday in New York, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sports car changed hands for a staggering $51.7 million, marking it as the second-highest-priced car ever auctioned, as reported by Sotheby’s. In Pakistani rupees, this amount is equal to Rs 15 billion when calculated in view of today’s dollar-rupee exchange rate, Rs 288.

The vibrant red convertible, owned by an American collector for the past 38 years, trailed only behind a 2022 auction where a Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe fetched 135 million euros, equivalent to $144 million today.

The auction for the 250 GTO took place in the evening and concluded with a final bid lower than RM Sotheby’s anticipated $60 million, the luxury car subsidiary of the renowned auction house. The winning bidder’s identity remains undisclosed. TRT reported this stunning news today.

Dating back to 1962, this legendary Scuderia sports car, chassis 3765, equipped with a four-liter engine producing 390 horsepower, had notable achievements, finishing second in a 1,000-kilometer race at the German Nurburgring circuit and the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, where engine failure led to the team’s withdrawal, according to RM Sotheby’s.

After years of competition in Italy and Sicily, the car was sold and exported to the US in the late 1960s. Having changed hands among American owners, it landed in the possession of an Ohio collector in 1985, who ultimately sold it this Monday.

Sotheby’s envisions the new owner enjoying the GTO for touring, vintage racing, or showcasing it at major events worldwide.

The Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which fetched 135 million euros in 2022, was one of only two examples of the sports car, sold in a confidential auction at the German manufacturer’s museum in Stuttgart, making it the most expensive car ever sold globally, publicly or privately, according to an RM Sotheby’s spokesperson.

In the current autumn season of art sales, both Sotheby’s and Christie’s in New York have seen remarkable success, unaffected by challenging times. Christie’s reported a total of $864 million, highlighted by the sale of Claude Monet’s “Le bassin aux nymphéas” (“Water Lily Pond”) for $74 million and three Paul Cezanne paintings for $53 million. Sotheby’s, concluding its New York sales on Thursday, achieved a notable $139 million for Pablo Picasso’s “Femme à la montre” (“Woman with a Watch”) and sold a Cezanne piece, “Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert” (“Poplars on the banks of the Epte, overcast”), to an Asian collector for $30.7 million on Monday.

Despite a tense international context, Sotheby’s emphasizes that the art market, predominantly driven by China and Asia, shows no signs of slowing down.