DARK HORSE
This 1962 Ferrari has become the most expensive car ever sold at auction – and it broke the previous record by nearly £10million
The 250 GTO was sold to a mystery buyer for £37.5million at Monterey Car Week
FERRARI'S 250 GTO has yet again broken the record for being the most valuable motor to have gone under the hammer.
The 1962 car was finally bought for $48.4million (£37.5m) after 10 minutes of bidding by three collectors competing via telephone.
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Long considered to be the 'holy grail' of the car collector world, the Ferrari was sold by RM Sotheby's during the Monterey Car Week in California.
Although the new buyer remains anonymous, the seller was named as former Microsoft engineer Greg Whitten.
Having worked at the software giant since its early days from 1979 to 1998, the now-chairman of financial analyst Numerix is well-renowned for his extensive Ferrari collection.
Whitten has owned the 250 GTO since 2000, which is the third of only 36 examples ever made by the Italian marquee.
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Another 250 GTO previously held the title as the most expensive car sold at auction, having been sold for just over $38million (£29.5m) by Bonhams in 2014.
Further to that, the same model is also the most valuable car ever sold privately with David MacNeil, CEO of car mat maker WeatherTech, reportedly purchasing a 1963 model for $70million (£52m at the time).
Meanwhile, bidding for the Ferrari at the Monterey 2018 auction started at an unprecedented $35million (£27m).
RM Sotheby's said in a statement that gasps were heard as auctioneer Maarten ten Holder made the declaration.
At times, the three collectors vying for the 250 GTO went up by million-dollar bids.
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MORE ON CAR AUCTIONS
The Ferrari fell well within its estimate of $45-60million, while the auction house itself achieved a record $158million (£122m) of sales at Monterey.
Another notable lot included a one-off 1963 Aston Martin DP215 Grand Touring Competition Prototype that sold for $21.5million (£16.7m).
The Aston is now the most expensive British car ever sold at auction.
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