Fresh off reviewing a Yugo, I need some air. The perfect antidote is this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis no. 3527, represented by Tom Hartley Jnr, a UK expert in sales of high-end cars. Mitchell G sent us this welcome tip – thanks! The 250 GTO is revered for its rarity, looks, racing history, and performance. Just 36 were made between 1962 and 1964, aimed at homologation into the FIA’s Group 3 GT category. Each car has its idiosyncracies – no two are alike. Our subject car is the earlier body style with “D” shaped vents in the nose, affixed by dzus fasteners. Cars made in ’64 were lower and wider, with a smooth nose. Almost every example was raced in the day, so many have had at least parts of their aluminum bodies replaced by now. This particular car was first owned by Venetian jeweler Gotfrid Koechert, who drove it at Nürburgring, where it DNF’d. It was sold back to Maranello and subsequently delivered to Écurie Francorchamps. It campaigned as car #151 in the 1962 Tour de France Automobile with drivers Lucien Bianchi and Claude Dubois, but it hit a milk truck on course and was relegated to seventh place. Contrary to the listing’s description – which indicates the body is “original” – Barchetta.cc indicates that 3527’s front bodywork was replaced, which stands to reason given the collision experience.
Around 1963, the car was sold to Scuderia Filipinetti and then on to privateer Armand Boller, a Swiss banker. Boller drove it in various hill climbs where it placed respectably, then sold it on. It was modified by Swiss coachbuilder Graber for road use in 1965, including the installation of leather upholstery, wind-up windows, and driving lights. A series of British collectors owned the car thereafter. Its value was catching up with its use because its last recorded competition was in ’72, and sometime around 1987, the exterior modifications made by Graber were removed. The car was then shown extensively for several years, including appearances at the Goodwood Revival in the early 2000s, culminating in its last recorded public presentation at The Amelia in 2022.
With matching numbers gearbox, engine, and rear end, and retaining a driver-friendly interior, this car’s pedigree is impeccable. Unlike the Enzo and the F40, which will scare the living daylights out of all but the most experienced drivers, the dry sump Colombo 3.0 liter V12 is more amenable to amateur handling. It is not slow, however, with its oversized valves, triple Webers, and 9.7:1 compression ratio: sixty mph will come up in six seconds, and the top speed is 170.
The 250 GTO sits right at the top in the pantheon of expensive cars. In 2014, a 250 GTO sold for $38,115,000, breaking the record for the highest-priced car sold at auction. That figure was shattered in 2018 … by another 250 GTO. This time, the price was $48,405,000. Then, in 2023, 250 GTO chassis no. 3765 LM sold for $51.7 million. Rumor has it that yet another example sold privately for $70 million. All of these are eclipsed by Mercedes’ sale of one of two 1955 300 SLR Uhlenhaut coupes, for just shy of $143 million, but you get the idea: this car over at Tom Hartley Jnr’s will be very pricey. I’m sure it’s a vain hope, but I wish the new owner would drive its tires off.
Besides being a good race car the beauty of this car’s design has always impressed me. It’s been at the top of my best design list most of my life. Nothing to change that now. Wow! of the highest order.
Definitely agree with you, but this is obviously a fake ad. You don’t sell the most expensive car in the world on craigslist.🤷♂️
Sorry, it’s not on CraigsList.
Wonder if this Nick Masons car.
I hope not! Would like to see him be able to keep his cars.
It is not. Mason’s car as the history of that car is well-known but different.
I will guess threekazillon.
This 250 GTO being discussed is Chassis 3527 GT.
Nick Mason’s is Chassis 3757GT.
Bob, you can always settle for the 275 GTB/4 which is (almost) equally beautiful but (slightly) less expensive!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qatQanEJ6Og
Just checked my penny jar. Can’t handle the GTB/4 yet.
You beat me to it.. I was going to check my spare change tho..
Viennese jeweler Gotfrid Koechert.
Not Venetian.
Ah, I can almost hear the complaining, “These billionaires have spoiled the hobby by now pricing us simple multimillionaires out of the market.”
If it was only a few grand cheaper, I’d be all-in … Ppppffffft
Those of us of a certain age will always have a deep-seated reverence for a group of cars that captured our adolescent imaginations. These cars are iconic and I’d venture that they are out of the reach of us mere mortals. One needn’t have severe money envy to appreciate cars like the Ford GT40, D & E type Jaguars, Mercedes 300SL, Maserati Ghibli, Aston Martin DB 5 & 6, and of course, the 250 GTO.
Readers of this site are nostalgic if nothing else. It sure doesn’t offend me to see an intelligent and informed write up of one of my all time favorites. Keep ’em coming, Michelle.
If you want to see them race today, go watch the Goodwill Revival. Awesome!!!
Do I buy a car or an island? Why not both?
I want to be buried in a 250 GTO coffin…
Boys, time to buy a lottery ticket. Both Powerball and MegaMillions are way up there, $559 mil. and $735 mil. respectively, and after taxes you just might be able to buy this!
Change your name and move. Claim the winnings with an LLC. Problem solved.
Oh, come on. It’s not like you’re going to daily drive this…
I’d be in on this, but the wife says no. Oh well.
To the new owner: If you want to keep up with a lowly Shelby Cobra I can put a V8 in it for you.
Surprised to see this car at a dealer and not headed to auction – unless this is just a promo for the eventual auction appearance of course.
As Michelle implies, Tom Hartley Jr is one of a handful of UK dealers who can handle such a sale. Surprising maybe that it is publicly on sale, rather privately brokered but I wouldn’t expect to save much by buying from Tom Jr.
Wouldn’t mind having it along with a Top Fuel Nitro Car right along side it lol 😝
Michelle, another excellent write-up but I’ve just one nit to pick. These used six 2 barrel Webers. Not three. Though the listing does not provide an engine picture, a google image search confirmed my recollection. As these were intended for competition I was certain they would have equipped each cylinder with its own throat, or “choke” as the Italians refer to a venturi.
Ford and Shelby do owe some thanks to this car, as it set the precedent for being allowed to enter competition based only on the chassis having been produced in sufficient numbers for homologation (Olomigato). Shelby followed suit with the Daytona coupe. The all new bodies of these and the Daytona did not require production in the numbers normally required for homologation as they just carried over the existing spec chassis.
Thanks very much for the correction.
I’d be interested, but I hear it is very hard to find parts for one of these. I just did a quick search on Ebay, no joy. I’ll have to pass. I don’t see any mention of A/C either. Pity. It otherwise seems like a nice old car.
…my zipper just ripped right out of my pants..
Enzo Ferrari wished he had made the E-Type. I think this car is equally beautiful.
You could start your own college with $140M.
I’m glad it’s here. It’s great to see all kinds; everything doesn’t have to be a clapped-out Camaro with fake RS badges.
I have drooled over these for more years than I care to think about. Love these and the Ferrari Daytona.I heard that
Nick Mason used his as collateral for money for the Pink Floyd album “The Wall”
Good thing it was a success
I understand the owner of WeatherTech owns a GTO.
He once was a humble Acura salesman.
Yes, he was the guy who paid $70 million.
As an average aficionado of classic cars l myself can and do appreciate it when BF gives us an article like this. Thanks. My personal favorite Ferrari is the 288 GTO. The Ferrari of my dreams.
Why do they call this site Barn Finds? Do these look like barn finds, I think not.
Most of the cars we feature are barn finds but sometimes we run across awesome machines like this that deserve a mention. Even if it’s not on your shopping list, what kind car guy wouldn’t like to take a peek at a 250 GTO?
Thanks for the variety, Jesse and company. That is why I have been a daily visitor for more years than I care to say.
My advice to those seeking Barn Finds: it is SO easy to skip the cars that don’t fit the description. Just move on, there is guaranteed to be a juicy barn find in the next 2 or 3 entries.
Barn Finds has to walk – and I think it does – the fine line between the mundane and the dreamt-of. I’m very happy with the mix; I mean, today we have 4 mundanes (Mercury, Chevrolet, Pontiac and Dodge) and then a long series of assorted comments on the GTO (Ferrrari, not Pontiac). Anyone want to buy my MGB? I want to upgrade to a 6-cylinder (AH 300, TR6). I may not make it to the 12 cylinders, but I can enjoy the view and the sound.
Excellent write up. Very enjoyable, as has been the comments.
Closest I’ll ever get to one of these cars would be a scale model. Extraordinary vehicle.
One year the Colorado Grand had six of these cars entered.
Not in the same league as an Alfa Romeo TZ2 in the looks department.
Interior is completely wrong. When Moto Tech restored it it is said they saved the “original” interior but that would be the Graber interior installed in 1965. The entire front half of the nose was torn off in the 1962 Tour de France so the car has had bits replaced. As with most Series 1’s out there claiming to be “original,” there is nothing original about this car.
The most beautiful machine of any kind ever assembled by human hands. Period.
I would pay double, maybe even triple of what tis car went for new. How could they say no?