Ferrari 250TR sells for record breaking $12.2M at RM Auction
Record-breaking Ferrari 250 TR – Click above for high-res image gallery
RM Auctions, in conjunction with Sotheby's, held their third annual Ferrari Leggende e Passione auction this past weekend. The star of the event was a 1957 250 TR chassis #0714TR, one of only 22 "pontoon-fender" Testa Rossas built, and this one was successfully campaigned by privateer owners from 1958 to 1963. It has been fully restored and features its original race black and red livery. The car was expected to break the record price for a car sold at auction, set last year by RM at the same event by a 1961 250 GT California Spyder, and it didn't disappoint. 0714TR brought a final price of €9,020,000, or about $12,169,784 at the current exchange rate.
Is this 250 TR worth the price? Think of it this way. Prominent works of art regularly sell for tens of millions of dollars and have even surpassed $100 million several times. If you consider the 250 TR a piece of artwork, with Ferrari and Scaglietti as the artists, then $12 million is a bargain. Plus, you can't rev a Picasso to 8,000 rpm or take it vintage racing.
More details on the auction and the car in the press release after the jump.
Gallery: 1957 Ferrari 250 TR, chassis #0714TR
[Source: RM Auctions]
PRESS RELEASE:
MARANELLO, Italy (May 17, 2009) – RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby's, made history at the Ferrari factory in Maranello today as a 1957 Ferrari 250 TR, chassis no. 0714TR sold for €9,020,000 at the third annual Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event to set a new world record for the most expensive motor car ever to be sold at auction.
Returning to its Maranello birthplace for its auction debut, the €9,020,000 sale price for 0714TR represents €1,980,000 more than the previous auction world record which was set at the same sale last year.
"The historical significance of this car attracted a bidding war as collectors from around the world - both in the room and on the telephone – competed to secure one of the most alluring and iconic of all Ferrari racing cars," said Max Girardo, Managing Director of RM Europe.
"The eyes of the world were watching today's sale as cars of this quality are so rarely offered to the market. The quality and the provenance of the Testa Rossa speaks for itself and the price we achieved today is testament to that. We are delighted with the result the car achieved today," he added.
The beautiful and immediately recognizable Scaglietti-designed 'pontoon-fender' 250 TR was produced from 1957 to 1958 during which only 22 examples 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. 0714TR was extensively campaigned in its day with significant finishes at the world's most important racing events including the 1000 km Buenos Aires in January 1958.
Presented by RM Auctions in association with Sotheby's, Ferrari Leggenda e Passione is the only auction of its kind dedicated to the Ferrari marque, held at the Maranello factory grounds and endorsed by the Ferrari factory.
About the car
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.
"This legendary 250 TR is one of the most exciting motor cars ever to be presented in auction history," said Max Girardo, Managing Director of RM Europe.
"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," he added.
0714TR was extensively campaigned in its day with significant finishes at the world's most important racing events and is now being offered at auction for the first time. The car is resplendent in its period race-correct black livery and red nose.
In December 1957, this car was delivered to its first owner, racing driver and future coachbuilder, Piero Drogo in Modena, Italy. Drogo debuted the car as a privateer in the celebrated 1000 km Buenos Aires in January 1958 with a respectable fourth place finish competing with such legendary drivers as Phil Hill, Peter Collins, Wolfgang von Trips and Olivier Gendebien. Following entries in the Grand Prix of Cuba and Portugal, the car was sold by American Ferrari agent Luigi Chinetti to Texas rancher and entrepreneur Alan Connell whose competitive driving skills and affluence afforded him several wins on the 1959 North American racing circuit. 0714TR continued its prowess on the track with subsequent owners and competed in its last professional race in June 1963 at the Elkhart Lake 500.
The Ferrari 250 TR has become an enduring and exceedingly valuable classic whose soaring lines and sculptural elegance give it a sense of speed even when standing still. The legendary s/n 0714TR is by far the most campaigned of the 250TR cliente series cars with a fascinating ownership and racing history, establishing its rarified place in the collector world as one of the most beautiful and valuable Ferraris ever offered in auction history.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
adam1drift 4:39PM (5/18/2009)
good thing we are not in a recession or anything...
Dont let Obama or Pelosi know that you spent that kinda money...
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mike 5:47PM (5/21/2009)
anyone know where i can find more high-quality pictures like this? there was a post a while ago that had some similar ones. is there like a website that has good ones?
13enS 4:53PM (5/18/2009)
Beautiful car, gross price.
Saw this over on wired.com; funny to read what non-car folk think about this.
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zamafir 5:41PM (5/18/2009)
It's a ridiculously gorgeous car in person. I've been lucky enough to touch a 250TR. I wish i could have sat in it, but I obviously wasn't given the chance. Such an amazing cacophony of curves. Pity Ferrari doesn't design them like this anymore, the whole brick house aerodynamics being a problem today (well and them racing in f1 and various GT classes but nothing necessitating the sort of car as this).
Malhaar 5:03PM (5/18/2009)
beautiful car, but I have a feeling it will be one of those cars which will never see the light of day, and remain locked away in the garage as something to admire..
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audi_arena 5:23PM (5/18/2009)
"Is this 250 TR worth the price? Think of it this way. Prominent works of art regularly sell for tens of millions of dollars and have even surpassed $100 million several times. If you consider the 250 TR a piece of artwork, with Ferrari and Scaglietti as the artists, then $12 million is a bargain. Plus, you can't rev a Picasso to 8,000 rpm or take it vintage racing."
Thank you Autoblog for this refreshing point of view.
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zamafir 5:44PM (5/18/2009)
Yeah, it's nice to know some journalists aren't afraid to be real car lovers, it's what sites like this are all about, the passion and art of rolling sculptures which are about 25% of their potential beauty when resting and 100% when their respective engines are belting out a tune down a straight away.
catchmyshadow 5:27PM (5/18/2009)
12 mill. for a car while more and more people are starving and can hardly make a living. i don`t care if it is rare or art or whatever, it is pure obscenity and a slap in the face of the disadvantaged.
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ij70 5:38PM (5/18/2009)
I bet your 401k tanked big time.
Dunc 5:57PM (5/18/2009)
shut up wuss
EJ25RUN 6:42PM (5/18/2009)
Its people like you that make me laugh at poor people.
Your life sucks lol
asuka 8:11PM (5/18/2009)
I LOL @ the homeless. I buy mortgages from banks just so I can put them in foreclosure. I take suitcases full of Big Macs to Ethiopia and eat them in front of fly-covered babies.
This is my car.
Doug 5:50PM (5/18/2009)
I'm confused, because here they say it didn't reach the reserve of ~$9.7 mil
http://axisofoversteer.blogspot.com/2009/05/1212123154-black-ferrari.html
maybe the bidding was still open at the time the other posting was made?
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Richard 6:14PM (5/18/2009)
Wow!
More curves and bigger headwights than Nancy Pewowsi!
She would have bid on this herself, but she is busy telling lies about the lies she told about her briefs with the CIA.
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Z 8:09PM (5/18/2009)
Stunning.
Amazing piece of art.
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JDM Life 9:51PM (5/18/2009)
Nice car....but 12 million???
Lets be real guys thats too far.
There much better things that much money could be used for....can believe that one person can be this rich...when theres people out their that can get food to eat at night.
Im a car guy too but this is over board.
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IOMTT 11:33AM (5/19/2009)
@ JDM, try to think of it as more of an investment. There is probably no better place to put $12 million. I would be nervous putting that kind of scratch in the market. This car is close to being the ultimate blue chipper. Just look at the provenance and look up the drivers that have piloted this car. Trust me...very impressive.
JP Hedin aka DrSmart 3:23AM (5/19/2009)
I'll never forget the remains of Ted Baumgartner's 250TR after he rolled it at the end of Elkhart Lake's main straight in the Early 60's It was light metallic blue-I wonder where it is now ??
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rand1515 9:08AM (7/20/2009)
Dear JP Hedin: I'm Rand Baumgartner (Ted's son). The Ferrari was repaired and actually was dark blue. It was raced once at State Fair Park at a regional by Augie Pabst when he was recuperating from his serious racing injuries. My dad raced it with Buzz Hahn at the Road America 500 after that and unfortunately the engine blew. It was rebuilt and I don't know the history of it after that. While my dad raced it, it was owned by Dave Deuble out of Chicago. He was a former race driver who had been paralized in a racing accident in his RSK Porsche. My dad and he were very good friends. The last that I heard of the car was that it was owned by a car collector in the Minneapolis area. I had found info in book that had been written on historic ferraris. It had been totally restored and was painted white, which was the color it had when it left the factory
gimmea6 8:54PM (5/19/2009)
Magnificent.
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