Ferrari 250 TR – Expected to sell for a world record price when it is sold by RM Auctions
Classic cars is a fascinating game. At the bottom end there’s a huge range of cars from the ’60s and ’70s that can now be considered classics, and which can offer a whole heap of fun and thrills on a budget, particularly if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.
But at the top end it’s a whole different game, and prices are not in thousands of pounds, but millions. It is very much a rich man’s game, but we should be grateful to those with deep enough pockets to indulge, as it keeps our great car heritage alive and breathing.
One of the biggest players in the Classic Car auction game is RM Auctions. Thirty years in the business has seen them involved in the sale and restoration of some of the greatest cars ever built. With auctions around the world, they have been responsible for setting benchmarks for classic car prices.
One of their recent high-profile successes was the sale of a McLaren F1 in London last year. That particular McLaren was the car that sat in the McLaren showrooms in Park Lane for years, and it set a new high for an F1, selling for something over £2.5M. RM Auctions MD in Europe, Max Girado, was single-handedly responsible for pushing McLaren F1 prices up by at least 30% as a result of that sale (to be fair, it’s not Max’s fault (or his team) – he was just doing his job very well – but it’s more fun to blame him!).
And now its looks like RM may be about to set a new world record price for a car, with the announcement that an ultra-rare Ferrari 250 TR is to be auctioned at RM’s Ferrari Leggenda e Passione sale in Maranello in May.
The RM press release on the sale describes the car very succinctly:
Considered one of the most alluring, competitive and iconic of all Ferrari racing cars, the beautiful and immediately recognizable Scaglietti-designed, ‘pontoon-fender’ 250 TR was produced from 1957 to 1958 during which only 22 were constructed. The Ferrari 250 TRs entered 19 international championship races from 1958 through 1961 emerging with 10 victories and earning them legendary status among discerning collectors, as well as the honor of being one of the most desirable and competitive racing Ferraris ever built.
And, of course, Max has something to say on the subject:
“This legendary 250 TR is one of the most exciting motor cars ever to be presented in auction history.”
“The Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event, now in its third year, is firmly established as the place to sell important road and race going Ferraris, and we are delighted to present this stunning 250 TR at its Maranello birthplace.”
The hope is that this stunning Ferarri will set a new world record for a car, potentially exceeding the $21M paid for a Ferrari 250 GTO last year.
We’ll find out in May. Good luck, Max!
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