The Ferrari GTO stands as one of the most beautiful and exclusive cars of all time, and it boasts a racing record to back up its unparalleled collectibility. This, however, has seen prices soar to insane levels in recent times, and things don't appear to be cooling down one bit.

Case in point is a 1962 250 GTO, chassis No. 3413, that sold for $48.4 million on Saturday at an RM Sotherby's auction held in Monterey, California. The figure, which includes the buyer's premium, is now the highest price ever paid for a car at auction. It smashed the previous record of $38 million paid for another 250 GTO in 2014.

Incredibly, the $48.4 million figure isn't the highest price paid for a car. That honor, at least as far as publicly available prices are concerned, is the $70 million paid for another 250 GTO snapped up by WeatherTech CEO David MacNeil in June in a private sale.

It isn't clear who the buyer in Monterey was, though we know the seller was former Microsoft executive Greg Whitten. He's owned the car since 2000 and shown it at various vintage motorsport events during that time including four of the well-known GTO anniversary tours.

Chassis No. 3413 is the third of the 36 250 GTOs that Ferrari built between 1962 and 1964. It was initially a test car for driver Phil Hill, an American F1 champion and Le Mans winner, in preparation for that year's Targa Florio road race. The first owner was one of Ferrari's favorite private customers, Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi. The racer entered it in 10 races in 1962 and won every event minus one where he placed second.

After owning the car for just one year, Lualdi-Gabardi received a second 250 GTO in 1963 and sold the older car to Gianni Bulgari. Bulgari, who would lead the famous jewelry brand, entered the car and won its class at the 1963 and 1964 Targa Florio.

Throughout its life, chassis No. 3413 competed in 20 races and was never once involved in a wreck. In fact, it retains the original V-12 engine, transmission, and rear axle. Coachbuilder Scaglietti wrapped the car in a Series II body in 1964, which it also still wears.

What car would you buy if you were a rock god? It’s a fun question to ponder, but not one to take too seriously since most of us can’t always get what we want. Someone with about as much (or more) money than a rock god will get to live that dream, however, when they purchase Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards’ 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT at the BonhamsGoodwood Revival auction this weekend.

With such a fantastic machine, it would have been easy to let it sit and accrue value. But nothing is more rock n’ roll than actually driving the cars. And Richards didn’t just buy this gorgeous rear-engined asphalt-eater. No, he made sure to let the 2.4 liter, 175 horsepower V6 engine stretch its legs.

Richards even had the car flown from California back to England, and actually drove the car around Europe rather than flying with the rest of the band while on tour, Carscoops reports. He actively drove the car all the way until 1986 when it was sold to a collector in Japan.

“If you want to feel like a Rock God, this is the car for you. The stunning low-sloping bonnet, purring engine power and 0-50 mph acceleration time of 5.5 seconds makes the 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT a very attractive choice,” Sholto Gilbertson, Director of Motor Cars at Bonhams said in a statement on the Bonhams website.

A very attractive choice may be putting it mildly. It’s a goddamn beautiful car that survived the ’70s better than the majority of hotel rooms the Stones stayed at while on tour, and arguably better than Mick Jagger did. Its rarity makes it all the more special. Ferrari only made 2,700 Dino 246GTs between 1968 and 1974, and this one, with its heritage, is expected to take £300,000-400,000 (or $390,000-$510,000 in freedom bucks) at the Goodwood Revival auction on Sept. 8.

Typhoon Jebi made landfall with Japan early last week and caused absolute carnage at an authorized Ferrari dealership on Rokko Island.


The artificial island in the city of Kobe was crippled by the strongest typhoon to hit Japan since 1993 and three feet of water rushed into the dealerships.

Yahoo Japan reports that the storm surge destroyed no less than 51 of 53 new and used Ferraris which were housed at the dealership, some of which had already been purchased. Workers at the facility attempted to block the storm surge with tarps and sandbags but were unsuccessful in their attempts.

Saltwater ultimately found its way into the dealership, taking with it the lives of many very-expensive Ferraris and forcing the dealer to truck them away to be scrapped. The combined value of the destroyed vehicles is approximately $9 million.

Local media says the dealership will look to reclaim its losses through insurance but even if it does get a generous payout, business will be severely affected for quite some time.

As disheartening as stories like this are, they aren’t all that rare. Floods, especially those in the United States, frequently destroy many prized automobiles which are sent straight to the scrap yard to be either destroyed or auctioned off.

Last year, up to 1 million vehicles in the United States were destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.

While repairing a flooded car is technically possible, it is extremely expensive and often involves rebuilding the engine and transmission and potentially, rewiring much of the vehicle.

The SP3JC is described as a "pure, uncompromising roadster". Music to our ears

Ferrari’s developed a new business in one-off specials for the wealthy, and its latest car is this, the SP3JC. Its distinctly unsexy name is a red herring; this is a deeply exotic car which ought to be slightly terrifying to drive.

Hiding beneath its roadster body is an F12 tdf, one of the lairier Ferraris of recent years. If you need a reminder, that means a 769bhp 6.3-litre V12 that’ll rev to the heavens and spin the rear wheels if you dare be the slightest bit clumsy. It’s an enthralling car, and removing all semblance of a roof ought to feed even more of its nape-prickling noise right into your ears. Wonderful.

That engine is such a work of art, the SP3JC’s customer has requested glass panels in the bonnet to show teasing glimpses of it. Other styling flourishes include carbon rollover hoops and some intricate alloy wheels.

Beyond the headlights and front grille, the styling takes a major detour from the F12 tdf, not least because of the razored off roof. The colour scheme has been dictated by its client’s love of pop art. Their brief was for a “pure, uncompromising roadster”, which is something we can really get on board with. If they happen to be reading this, um, please can we have a go?

Pininfarina’s 2012 limited edition first had to get *special* approval before it was built

Sergio Pininfarina, son of founder Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina and father to Paolo was Pininfarina’s chairman for 40 years. Indeed, he spent 55 years at the company, building and shaping it into the entity you see today.

“How Pininfarina is today, we owe this to my father who built this company and insisted on the research, on the innovation, aerodynamics, safety and so on,” his son Paolo – now chairman himself – tells TopGear.com.

Paolo notes how the move from Battista to Sergio meant the company became ‘a little less artistic’, and more ‘engineering orientated’. “That was in line with the period and absolutely necessary to stay in market. To create was just not enough,” Paolo adds.

So when Sergio passed away in 2012, the company had to honour his legacy in the best way possible. A limited edition car. You know it as the Ferrari Sergio. “My father was the man with the Ferrari connection,” Paolo tells TG, “because in 1952 his first job was to follow the relationship with Ferrari, and he made more than 100 cars.”

So, the marque was established. Pininfarina would build a very special Ferrari in honour of Sergio Pininfarina. But, just what kind of Ferrari does Pininfarina take inspiration from for the project? “I said, ‘give me one day, I need to have a special consultant for the decision’,” Paolo says.

“I know what I want to do, but I wanted to check. So I go to my house, and I call my mother. I said, ‘I would start from the Dino, that was his [Sergio’s] favourite car. Do you agree?’

“And she said ‘absolutely, I agree’.” Paolo claps his hands. “So, we have the validation!” Talk about family connections.

But why was the Dino a favourite of the former Pininfarina chairman? “It was totally new at the time,” Paolo remembers. “It had a new engine, six cylinders, in a new position – midship – and it was a new brand. A brand of the son of Enzo Ferrari.”

So, in came the Dino’s elements of “smoothness and a round shape”, implanted onto the bones of a Ferrari 458 Speciale A, no less. Quite simply one of the finest driver’s cars to have ever graced this earth.

“We put in some cues from the 1970s and 1980s, so it’s a synthesis of a story,” Paolo says. “We also restarted the coachbuilding tradition. It was not just a memory of the past, but a step into the future of limited edition manufacturing.” Remember, only six Ferrari Sergios were ever built.

Of course, Paolo will now oversee the ‘third generation’ of Pininfarina: production of a PF0 hypercar by 2020, and a range of exclusive, luxury EVs thereafter. A far cry from his memories of being a small boy going to motor shows with his father.

“Those outstanding concept cars of the late Sixties… my father used to invite my brother and myself to see the Torino Motor Show. In those days we had two or three concept cars in the same show, every year, which for me was outstanding.

“I have so many memories of those glorious days of the Sixties. When I was 9 or 10 years old, it was clear that my family was involved with cars,” he smiles. “There is no precise date when I became a Pininfarina employee – my official entrance into the company is 1982 – but there has not been a day in my life when I didn’t think to become a Pininfarina employee.”

He laughs. “I think I was employed [claps hands] from the very beginning.”

A special chapter then: Paolo is responsible for carrying out his grandfather’s long-held dream of having Pininfarina’s own cars on the road. Not designed for others, but “110 per cent Pininfarina”.

“The first generation of Pininfarina was the connection with Lancia ‘and the others’,” he says. “The second generation was designing for Ferrari ‘and the others’.

“Now, the third generation is designing for the world. For the future,” he adds.

RM Sotheby's closed its final auction of the year with a high-profile Ferrari. A 1956 Ferrari 290 MM shattered into the record books with a hammer price of $22 million.

With the sale price, it becomes one of the top 10 most valuable cars ever sold at auction. The particular car, chassis number 0628, originally started life as an 860 Monza and saw a handful of motorsports' greatest drivers climb behind the wheel including Phil Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Peter Collins, Olivier Gendebien, Sir Stirling Moss, and Wolfgang von Trips. Better yet, the 290 MM sports its original body, engine, and transmission.

The car received three engines over its motorsports campaign. It began life with a 3.5-liter 860 Monza-type engine before Ferrari swapped in a 3.5-liter 290 S engine. Its maiden race was the Mille Miglia in which it competed as an official works car, finishing second overall thanks to the talents of English duo, Peter Collins and Louis Klementaski. In that same year, it also came second in the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti with Olivier Gendebien and Jacques Washer as well as third in the Targa Florio, with Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien, and in the Aosta-Gran San Bernardo in the hands of Italian driver, Umberto Maglioli.

The final engine that remains with it today is a 290 MM V-12, though the car in this configuration was a DNF at the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring, it's final factory-backed competition. After the no-place showing at the race, it was sold into private ownership and was meticulously maintained since. This included a full restoration by the Ferrari Classiche Department in 2014.

Although $22 million is a lofty sum for a classic car, chassis 0628 fell short of another Ferrari 290 MM that sold at auction in 2015. The other example, piloted by El Maestro in the 1956 Mille Miglia, sold for $28 million at an RM auction. The slump in value may have something to do with a continued trend of collector car prices. Some experts agree values have come down after a hot streak in the mid-2010s.

RM Sotheby's sold $39.8 million worth of collector cars and memorabilia at its Peterson Automotive Museum auction in Los Angeles, California, which ran over the weekend. Just 88 percent of the vehicles offered found new homes, though. Perhaps owners still believe their cars can fetch 2015-like prices in a market that has become more tepid when it comes to vintage and rare cars.

A famous 1991 Ferrari F40 restored and modified by Gas Monkey Garage is heading to auction once again.



The iconic Italian supercar was featured on Fast N’ Loud in 2013 after Gas Monkey Garage’s Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins purchased the, then wrecked, F40 for $400,000. A risky and expensive restoration commenced shortly after.

Under the guidance of Ferrari restoration expert Stuart Singer and Lamborghini/Ferrari tech M. Luongo, the Gas Monkey Garage team disassembled the car and straightened and strengthened the bent frame. From there, virtually every part of the supercar was refreshed or replaced with OEM or aftermarket parts.

They also worked extensively to improve the F40 and did so with a pair of upgraded turbochargers for the 2.9-liter V8, an aluminum flywheel, Kevlar clutch pack, Tubi competition exhaust, Penske Racing adjustable shocks, and HRE wheels. And, despite all F40s that rolled out of the factory only in red, they decided to paint it black.

The Gas Monkey Garage Ferrari F40 was sold for $742,500 at auction in 2014, but just a year later, the owner, baseball icon Reggie Jackson, sold the car at an auction where it fetched $643,500. The car was purchased by Richard Scott who, in November 2017, he was arrested following police investigations into a 15-year bribery scheme. Authorities seized his assets and the unique F40 will now be auctioned off at Apple Towing Company’s February 5-7 auction in California.

Mind you, Richard Rawlings says he plans “to bid aggressively on the car” to get the keys back to one of his company’s most famous rides.

Is the 246 GT the single greatest Ferrari ever? Well, no. Not while the 275 GTB/4, F40 or 250 GT Lusso exist.

But that’s like looking down at Goodfellas because Casino is better. Yes, it is. Look into your heart. And besides, it’s hard not to say that the 246 GT is one of the best-looking road cars to ever wear the Ferrari badge. Or is it Dino?

And here we find the 246’s story. Yes, it’s the old Dino/Ferrari dichotomy again, and the tragic story of Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari. The son and heir of Enzo Ferrari had a horrific genetic muscle-wasting disease, which claimed his life at just 24 years old.

A talented engineer, Dino had planned and proposed a special V6 engine by his early Twenties. His engine, which was finished after his death, found success in various race cars – including, eventually, the Lancia Stratos.

Before then, however, Enzo Ferrari gave Dino’s racing V6 engine and his name to the 206 and 246 GT, which spanned the eight years from 1967 to 1974. From there, the V6 continued in the Lancia Stratos as Ferrari returned to V8s. And, excluding F1, Ferrari’s never gone back to V6 engines. So the Dino 246 is a truly unique Ferrari.

This one’s particularly rare – a right-hand-drive coupe in Azzuro Dino, or ‘I didn’t know they painted Ferraris blue’ to the rest of us. The rest you can probably guess – impossible rarity, superlative provenance, extraordinary bank balance needed to afford it. If you’re curious, the estimate is about £280,000, but for the rest of us, just imagine dropping back a gear in the open-gated five-speed and letting Dino’s unique voice ring out again. Then think about how utterly untroubled you’d be by any notion of ‘greatest’.