Resale value is one of the many factors to consider when buying a car. But for some serious return on automotive investment it's hard to beat the Ferrari 250 GTO. Produced from 1962 to 1964 by Ferrari for eligibility into the FIA's Group 3 Grand Touring Car category, potential U.S buyers at the time not only had to fork out US$18,000, but also had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and his North American dealer Luigi Chinetti. Nowadays you won't need any personal approvals, but you will need substantially more then 18 grand. In what is believed to be the largest single car transaction in the U.K., a Ferrari 250 GTO has sold for over GBP20 million (approx. US$31.7 million).
According to Octane Magazine, the Ferrari 250 GTO bearing chassis number 5095GT was sold by British Real Estate Agent Jon Hunt to an unknown buyer. The car was produced in September 1963 and was one of the last to feature the original 1962 body style so prized by collectors. After being registered by automobile racing manager Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, the car was entered in the 1963 Tour de France Automobile. The car finished second, coming in behind another 250 GTO.
After receiving some much needed factory refurbishment and repair, the car was sold to the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organizers of the Le Mans 24 Hour race who used the car for driving school duties at the track, as well running it in various rallies and hillclimbs, before its engine blew as it crossed the finish line in fourth place at Le Mans in the 1964 Tour de France Automobile.
The ACO held onto the car until 1967 when it was sold to French Ferrari collector Pierre Bardinon who undid some of the modifications made by the ACO and returned it to its original condition for Bardinon's Collection Mas du Clos, where it remained for nearly 30 years.
The car then passed to John Collins of the classic Ferrari dealer Telacrest in 1996, who then sold it to Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee for GBP3.5 million (approx. US$5.5 million). British property developer William Ainscough became the next owner when Lee Kun-hee sold it at auction 2007 for GBP15.7 million (approx. US$24.9 million), before Jon Hunt bought it in 2008.
With the esteem in which the 250 GTO is held and the rarity of the vehicle - just 39 were produced, although some have looked to cash in by creating replicas of the 250 GTO using more common Ferrari chassis - the latest GBP20 million-plus purchase price could well be a wise investment.
Source: Octane Magazine
