BONHAMS: ALL'ASTA IL PROSSIMO AGOSTO UNA FERRARI 250 GTO DEL MUSEO MARANELLO ROSSO We may see a new car receive the world's most expensive title at this year's The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering event on August 15, as a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is going under the hammer. Another 250 GTO sold for a staggering $52 million just last year, and the car coming up for sale next month could see that figure surpassed given the current mania in classic cars-only last weekend a 1954 Ferrari 375-Plus sold for $18.3 million, and the 250 GTO is a much, much more desirable vehicle in the world of collectors. The 250 GTO coming up for sale is the car with chassis #3851 GT. It was the 19th 250 GTO to be built, out of a 39-car run, and it has been in the one family's care for no fewer than 49 years from 1965 until now. It will be sold by auction house Bonhams-at no reserve. The car left the factory in September of 1962 and was delivered to the leading French racing driver Jo Schlesser, to be co-driven by himself and French ski Champion Henri Oreiller in the 1962 Tour de France. The pair challenged for victory and finished an honorable second overall. The car was then crashed during a race at Montlhery Autodrome, just south of Paris, but was repaired and sold to gentleman driver Paolo Colombo the next year. It was then sold two more times, ending up in 1965 with Fabrizio Violati who said he saved the car from the scrapheap. Violati drove it right into the 2000s after which he chose to leave it in the hands of the Maranello Rosso Museum. As mentioned, the car will go up for sale on August 15 at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, which precedes the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Other highlights from the auction are a 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sports 4-Seater , 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB and a 1973 Ferrari 365GTS/4 Daytona Spider. ----/-/---- NEI GIORNI DI PEBBLE BEACH, ALL'ASTA DEL QUAIL LODGE BONHAMS METTERA' ALL'ASTA 10 VETTURE DEL MUSEO MARANELLO ROSSO. TRA ESSE LA PIU' PREZIOSA DI TUTTE, LA FERRARI 250 GTO s/n 3851GT RIMASTA NELLE MANI DELL'ULTIMO PROPRIETARIO PER QUASI 50 ANNI. Il prossimo ferragosto si annuncia un caldo bollente in California. Nei giorni di Pebble Beach potrebbe "saltare il banco" di Bonhams. Sarà infatti all'incanto una selezione di dieci preziose vetture Ferrari provenienti dal Museo Maranello Rosso, una delle più importanti raccolte esistenti di Ferrari e Abarth, creata nel 1989 dall'imprenditore e collezionista Fabrizio Violati, uno dei personaggi più importanti del motorismo storico scomparso anzitempo nel 2010. L'oggetto più prezioso della collezione potrebbe potenzialmente piazzare un nuovo record di aggiudicazione. All'asta, infatti, andrà la Ferrari 250 GTO telaio 3851GT (la 19esima delle 36 250 GTO costruite), acquistata da Violati nel 1965 e con lui sempre rimasta. L'ultima aggiudicazione, invero mai confermata, di una 250 GTO è datata ottobre 2013: il noto collezionista Paul Pappalardo, dicono le fonti, si sarebbe separato dalla sua 250 GTO 5111GT per 52 milioni di dollari. Si trattò, allora, di una trattativa privata. Poiché la 250 GTO 3851GT sarà all'incanto senza riserva, la cifra potrebbe raggiungere un tetto superiore. L'esemplare del Museo Maranello Rosso fu completata l'11 settembre 1962. Fu acquistata da Jo Schlesser che, insieme con il campione di sci Henri Oreiller, la schierò al Tour de France '62. La vettura terminò la corsa conquistando un ottimo secondo posto assoluto. Partecipò. successivamente, a una corsa sul circuito di Monthlery, sud di Parigi, ma si ritirò per incidente. Riportata a Maranello, fu riparata e venduta al gentleman driver Paolo Colombo che la portò in gara nel '63 nel Campionato Italiano della Montagna. Colombo portò a termine un'ottima stagione e l'anno successivo vendette la vettura a Ernesto Prinoth, che la guidò ancora in strada e in salita. Nel '65 un allora giovanissimo Fabrizio Violati acquistò la vettura "salvandola dalla rottamazione", come lui stesso amava ricordare. La tenne nascosta alla famiglia per qualche tempo, guidandola solo di notte al riparo dai rimproveri famigliari. Ma il tempo gli ha dato ragione, essendo diventata la più preziosa automobile da collezione del mondo.
Indeed, crashing with a lethal outcome that is. This photo is from the start of that race at Monthléry. Copyright unknown. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Having witnessed the care it takes to straighten a pair of Ferrari/Gilco oval chassis tubes that were knocked only a little over an inch out of true, how in the world do you repair that massive chassis damage?
I recall that great GTO expert Jess Pourret telling me that a driver was killed by being impaled on that tall shifter. I guess it must have been this car.
Oreiller was thrown from the car as it flipped, but I suppose the shifter could have caused some serious damage prior to his ejection. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Louwman is Bonhams is Louwman so the no reserve auction is just a gimmick to get publicity. If the bidding dies at a lower number than what Mr. Louwman wants all he need at that point is to be the highest bidder via his proxies. No loose situation, every body wins as Bonhams needs the hype due to it's competition always eclipsing them in Monterey. IMO the new owner will be an Asian Billionaire bidding $70-$100MM on this bad boy! Geno
+1, and add to the fact that Bonhams itself is up for sale by Louwman. Bonhams under the hammer | The Sunday Times Bonhams whittles down suitors to five - FT.com
another heavy crash of 3851GT: Prinoth at 1964 Coppa Intereuropa to me the recent nose of 3851GT always looked incorrect. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Are these pictures the reason why nobody ever ended up buying this particular car? was all its history just too much for one to handle?
I think the drivers death does affect the value, substantially. It's just bad luck/karma to many buyers. And even if the bury isn't bothered, they will worry about resale. The car repair isn't as important as it was done in period by the original builders, as opposed to a much later rebuild.
From reading the article, the driver was ejected from the car as it flipped. He later died at the hospital. As stated earlier, it is possible he was impaled by the shifter prior to being ejected. Technically, no one died in this car. On another note, after looking at the two pictures of the wrecks, it appears that the only undamaged/original body parts left from the original car are the taillights!
Bonhams has given an estimate of US$ 42.2 mio - 50.7 mio 31 mio - 37 mio £25 mio - 30 mio - without reserve
Makes you wonder if when Ferrari repaired it they actually built up a new car and stamped it with the existing SN possibly to avoid some tax or duty by the new owner?
All possibilities are presently being investigated and clarified, of course. As I recall vividly from period, the GTOs seemed to get regularly beaten-up even more than most racing cars - largely due to the type of competition which they contested, such as the Tour de France which regularly ended with a jungle of Ferrari parts left strewn around the byways of Europe. Some owners, such as Prince Tchkotoua - were singularly unlucky in the frequency of major shunts afflicting their cars. We will get to the bottom of it all by the time of the Sale...no hiding...and indeed with Ferrarichat no hiding place. DCN
On September 6, 1964 this is the way it looked after the accident at the Coppa Intereuropa. The second photo was taken at the "Flugplatzrennen" Innsbruck on October 4, 1964 where Prinoth finished 1st IC. Full recovery within 1 month. Copyrights unknown. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login