Ferrari 250 GTO
Thirty-six cars and a run of records. Ferrari built only 36 250 GTOs between 1962 and 1964. The engineering, the racing wins and the auction sales that made it a legend.
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO: see file page, CC BY-SA 3.0
Built to race
The Ferrari 250 GTO was made for GT racing, where cars had to be homologated, or approved, as road-going production models. GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato. The rules called for at least 100 cars, but the GTO was approved as an evolution of the earlier 250 GT SWB, so Ferrari built just 36 between 1962 and 1964.
That count includes 33 cars with the original 1962 to 1963 bodywork and three with a later 1964 shape. Development was led by engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and then Mauro Forghieri, and the aluminium bodies were made by Scaglietti in Modena.
Engineering
Under the long bonnet sits a 3.0 litre Colombo V12, about 250 cubic centimetres per cylinder, which is where the 250 in the name comes from. With six Weber carburettors and dry-sump lubrication it made roughly 300 PS at 7,500 rpm.
Bizzarrini concentrated on aerodynamics, giving the car a low nose and a cut-off tail to improve stability at speed. The result was a car that could be driven to the circuit, raced for hours and driven home.
Each car was finished by hand, and no two GTOs are exactly alike. Teams and owners often asked for changes to vents, lights or bodywork, and some cars were rebodied after accidents. Historians track each one by its chassis number, which is why the cars are usually identified by codes such as 3413GT rather than by name.
Racing record
The GTO made its debut at the 1962 12 Hours of Sebring with Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien. Ferrari won the over 2000cc class of the International Championship for GT Manufacturers in 1962, 1963 and 1964, and GTOs won the Tour de France Automobile in 1963 and 1964.
Today these cars still appear at historic events such as the Goodwood Revival, where owners race them hard rather than keeping them behind glass.
Auction history
Scarcity, beauty and a real racing past have made the 250 GTO one of the most valuable cars in the world. On 25 August 2018 RM Sotheby's sold chassis 3413GT at Monterey for 48,405,000 US dollars, then a record for any car at auction.
On 13 November 2023 RM Sotheby's sold chassis 3765 in New York for 51,705,000 US dollars, the highest price for a Ferrari at auction. The overall car record now belongs to the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, sold in 2022.
- A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO: see file page, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 250 GTOs racing at Goodwood Revival: PSParrot from England, CC BY 2.0
- A 250 GTO in 1962: Ferrari, Public domain
Text written by Greatest Prestige.
