Photo: Bonhams
August 15th, 2014. Mark that day in your calendars, Ferrari enthusiasts, 'cause an ultra rare 250 GTO will be auctioned by Bonhams at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering event. Considering chassis #3851GT will be offered without reserve and a 250 GTO sold for $52 million last year, this example of the breed might be the next to claim the title of world's most expensive car.
My, what great times car collectors live in nowadays - a Ferrari 250 LM is heading to auction in August, while the Prancing Horse's most powerful and most important racing model built for the works team, the 375-Plus "Fearsome Four-Nine", has been adjudicated last weekend for a staggering $18.3 million.
However, the Ferrari 250 GTO is still the most sought after classic car in the world and the one we're talking about today is the 19th of 39 units that rolled off the assembly line back in the early 1960s. Just like any other GTO, #3851GT has quite the back story and all the right stuff to make collectors bid aggressively for it in August, when it'll hit the auction block in California.
Under the svelte and muscular body shell designed by Giotto Bizzarrini and coach-built by Sergio Scaglietti, the belly of the beast consists of a 4.0-liter V12 engine running Weber carbs and at least 300 horsepower, which is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. That's a pretty nice recipe considering the 250 GTO has a curb weight somewhere around 880 kgs (1,940 lbs).
#3851GT is the longest single-ownership Ferrari 250 GTO thanks to a very caring owner that decided to part with it after a 49-year old relationship. The 19th 250 GTO ever made was first delivered to racing driver Jo Schlesser, who drove it to 2nd place overall in the 1952 Tour de France together with French ski champ Henri Oreiller.
However, the Ferrari 250 GTO is still the most sought after classic car in the world and the one we're talking about today is the 19th of 39 units that rolled off the assembly line back in the early 1960s. Just like any other GTO, #3851GT has quite the back story and all the right stuff to make collectors bid aggressively for it in August, when it'll hit the auction block in California.
Under the svelte and muscular body shell designed by Giotto Bizzarrini and coach-built by Sergio Scaglietti, the belly of the beast consists of a 4.0-liter V12 engine running Weber carbs and at least 300 horsepower, which is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. That's a pretty nice recipe considering the 250 GTO has a curb weight somewhere around 880 kgs (1,940 lbs).
#3851GT is the longest single-ownership Ferrari 250 GTO thanks to a very caring owner that decided to part with it after a 49-year old relationship. The 19th 250 GTO ever made was first delivered to racing driver Jo Schlesser, who drove it to 2nd place overall in the 1952 Tour de France together with French ski champ Henri Oreiller.
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