Mercedes-Benz may have built the two most expensive cars sold at auction, but that doesn’t mean that collectors have lost their hunger for Ferraris.
Just look at the Le Mans-winning 1964 250 LM by Scaglietti that was auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s in Paris earlier this week. The stunning race car sold for over $36 million, enough to make it one of the five most expensive auction cars of all time.
The 250 LM, like the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen that fetched $53 million earlier this week, was sold as part of a three-part auction of cars from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum collection overseen by RM Sotheby’s. It’s little wonder why it sold for so much. Post-war Ferraris, especially those from the 250 series, have been enthusiasts and collectors mad for decades now. All Ferrari from this era are special, but especially those with racing pedigrees, and few have a competitive history like the car that hammered at €34,880,000 (or $36,344,960) at the Retromobile car show on Wednesday.
That’s because this example is considered to be the greatest of the 32 250 LMs that were built, according to the auction house. It became the only privateer-entered car to ever win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965. It’s also the only Pracing Horse from the Enzo Ferrari era, which lasted from 1947 to 1988, to compete in six 24-hour races (it appeared at Le Mans two more times and at Daytona three times). On top of that, the car features gorgeous Scaglietti coachwork and includes its numbers-matching Testa Rossa-spec 3.0-liter V-12 and gearbox. And, after more than 50 years in the museum’s collection, it’s in impeccable condition.
The car auction market has reached new heights during the first half of the 2020s. Things appeared to settle down last year, with no car selling for more than $20 million. But thanks to the three-part Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum auctions things are heating up again. The Streamliner and the Le Mans-winning 250 LM may have been the headline lots, but don’t be surprised if something else sells—like this 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II—for an unimaginable sum during the third sale in Miami later this month.
Previously published on Robb Report US
Photos by Scagliettishooterz.biz/RM Sotheby’s
