Ferrari 250 GTO price: what they're worth now

Arguably the most collectable car in the world, Ferrari’s 250 GTO was a race car the Italian manufacturer built between 1962 and 1964 to compete in the FIA’s Group 3 Grand Touring Car racing category.

Ferrari was meant to have built 100 road-going production vehicles which would then make the GTO legal to race, but the GTO's advanced engineering apparently meant they couldn't afford to build that many examples.

In total just 36 cars were built, far short of the 100 required for homologation and to be legal for racing. There were 33 cars feature the Series I bodywork, and three featured updated Series II styling to bring them in line with the mid-engined 250 LM. Four Series I cars were subsequently updated to Series II bodies in 1964.

The GTO was the ultimate form of Ferrari’s classic 250-class cars, considered by many classic car experts to be the golden era for the famous brand. It was the lightest, stiffest model and boasted a race-tuned, highly advanced 3.0-litre V12 from the Le Mans-winning 250 Testa Rossa, producing a heady 221kW (300hp) for the day. And it slayed everything on racetracks the world over.

This unbelievable performance came at a staggering cost of US$18,000 in 1962, which was more than three-times the cost of a top-of-the-line Cadillac in the same year. Additionally, Enzo Ferrari personally approved every potential buyer.

Since the 1970s prices have climbed as buyers see the 250 GTO as encapsulating the peak of Ferrari’s ideals and the high-water mark of their golden era. Values fluctuate between cars, though and, thanks to the small number of GTOs built, values are heavily dependent on the provenance garnered by individual cars through time.

Chassis #3413GT sold in August 2018 for US$48,405,000 which set a new record for the most expensive car sold at a public auction. Chassis #5111GT sold in 2013 for US$52,000,000, while a ’63 GTO set an all-time record in June 2018 with its reported US$70,000,000 sale price.

It is unlikely prices will ever suffer a significant drop as the 250 GTO is recognised as a gold-standard investment, even by banks. 

Should Ferrari make a modern day 250 GTO? Let us know in the comments.