488 GTB

Make
Ferrari
Segment
Coupe

The Ferrari 250 GTO is a beautifully crafted road racer that was the final and most extreme development of Ferrari's 250 model range which originally debuted in 1953. The GTO incorporated almost a decade's worth of development and the mere 36 units that were built between 1962 and 1964 went on to dominate numerous racing categories. Mostly original, matching numbers cars with interesting histories such as the 1962 GTO (chassis no. 3413) you see here, command stratospheric prices today.

This is the third GTO ever built and started life as a factory test car for racing legend Phil Hill. Sold to a privateer customer it then went on to win the 1962 Italian National GT championships taking 9 out of 10 races. It also came 1st in class at the 1963 and 1964 Targa Florio. The car never once failed to finish a race and it still retains its original engine, gearbox and rear axle. These impressive racing achievements helped cement the legend of the GTO and the originality of the car makes it even more desirable to collectors. It will be auctioned off at RM Sotheby's Monterey sale on August 24 this summer, and is expected to sell for a record breaking price.

When new, the GTO cost $18,000 in 1962, taking inflation into account that same car should cost you $149,953 in 2018. Its current estimated value of $45 million represents quite a nice return on investment then. Put another way, you could buy around 175 brand new Ferrari 488s instead. Privately sold GTO's have fetched even higher prices before. But in the rarefied world of rare collectors' items it instead competes with one-off works of art such as Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' painting which sold for TEN times the 250 GTO's estimated value.

It seems far more reasonable in that context, and of course, you can't drive a painting.