$45m Ferrari 250 GTO set to become world's most expensive classic car

A Ferrari 250 GTO is expected to go for a record-breaking price when it goes under the hammer. The matching-numbers 1962 example is just one of 36 built. It could make $45m (£34m) when it heads to auction at Monterey on 24-25 August – proving that classics are still a hot ticket for investors.

As well as it’s stunning design, this GTO was victorious in the 1962 Italian National GT championship (winning nine out of ten races in the series) in the hands of privateer Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi. Chassis no. 3413 was then sold to race car driver Gianni Bulgari. Under both Bulgari and subsequent owner Corrado Ferlaino’s ownership, the GTO won its class in the 1963 and 1964 Targa Florio.

The car contested a total of 20 races in period, never involved in an accident, and not once failing to finish. It retains its original engine, gearbox, and rear axle, as well as its factory Series II body, which was fitted by Carrozzeria Scaglietti in 1964.

Following its racing career, the GTO has passed through an unbroken chain of ownership that includes prominent Ferrari collectors. In 2000, it was acquired by current owner Dr. Greg Whitten, avid collector car enthusiast and former chief software architect at Microsoft. The GTO has competed in vintage events around the world over the past two decades, as well as four of the lauded GTO anniversary tours.

RM’s Monterey auction is held during August’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – a world famous event that is often the highlight of the season and sees many an auction record tumble. Currently, the most valuable car ever sold at auction is a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta, which went for $38m in 2014.

So are GTO prices set to climb further – or is their bubble about to burst? Rumour has it that earlier this year, one American collector paid $70m for a 1963 example that finished fourth at Le Mans in the same year. And experts are predicting that 250 GTO prices will smash the $100m mark in the next five years.