1962 Ferrari 250 GTO – The most expensive car in the World

There have been many cars over the years that have sold for extremely high prices but the sale of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO in August of 2014 has reached an unheard of mark. At an auction, price of $38.115 million this rare beauty has reached a new milestone for the sale of a collectible car. Only 39 were produced and it is rumored that one sold privately last year for $52 million. Either way, it is still the most highly priced car ever sold at auction or otherwise.

The most recent titleholder of one of the most exorbitantly priced classics was reached in 2013 when a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 sold for $29.7 million in Chichester, UK another of the racecars built to go head to head with the Ferrari’s of its day. Cars driven by the daring do that broke speed records and earned a name in the halls of engineering magnificence for the cars that they produced.

The engine of the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was a masterpiece of design and although it displaced a mere 3.0-liter V-12 configuration, it produced a respectable 300 bhp. The engine is mounted to a steel tube frame and then it is all clad with an aluminum body. The double wishbone suspension with coil springs on the front of the car is still the standard of today’s sports cars as are the all-wheel disc brakes that were mounted to the GTO. These race inspired design features have been carried into today’s automobiles and were the crowning mark of the Ferrari line of race-inspired cars.

This particular model of the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was raced and wrecked on several occasions. It was rebuilt after each crash and it has lived through time to become the highest priced car to hit the auction block. Its lineage is well documented and several renowned personages have possessed this particular car, included in that ownership is Nick Mason, the drummer of Pink Floyd, who was one of the previous owners of this particular 250 GTO. Although most of us will never reach an income that will enable us to purchase a car such as the 1962, Ferrari 250 GTO the appreciation of such an icon is intriguing and for the automobile aficionado it brings to mind the days of the open cockpit racer that screamed around the track of a bygone era.