Ferrari 250 GTO chassis #3765, the only 250 GTO run by Scuderia Ferrari, sells in auction for £41.5 million, a record Ferrari auction price.

The world of rarified Classic Cars is as bonkers as the world of rarified art, with prices out of the reach of all but the mega-wealthy and ownership more about willy-waving than any semblance of value.

For a long time, the ultimate willy-waver in the classic car world has been the Ferrari 250 GTO from the 1960s, with just 33 Series 1 cars built and prices higher than your average Monet.

Now, there’s a new contender for the highest sale price for a 250 GTO as chassis #3765 reached a rather substantial £41.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. A record price for a Ferrari at auction, we’re told.

The high price – although below pre-sale estimates – can be attributed to this car’s unique history, the only 250 GTO to be raced by Scuderia Ferrari, coming second in the Nurburgring 1000km and racing at Le Mans where it was fitted with a 4.0-litre engine, although the factory subsequently re-installed the regular 3.0-litre.

Owned by the same chap for almost 40 years, the sale price of £41.5 million is a record price at auction for a Ferrari, although 250 GTO #4153 was sold privately in 2018 for £52 million.

And stratospheric though the price of this 250 GTO is, it pales into insignificance compared to the auction last year of the Mercedes 300 SLR which went for an enormous £115 million