A 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour de France Berlinetta, the coupe which was restored in 2005 and the Mille Miglia of that year, sold for $3.6 million in a sale of classic autos held by RM Auctions in London on October 26. This Ferrari joins a long list of classic 250s that have sold for seven-figure mark, and is one of just 39 competition Berlinettas produced by the company with all-alloy bodywork.
The 250 GT LWB Berlinetta was purchased by a telephone bidder. Its price including fees was the highest of the evening, amounting to $3.6 million. It was the most highly valued lot, with an expected hammer price of as high as $3.8 million. The Berlinetta lived in the United States for the majority of its years, until a U.K. collector bought it a few years back. It raced in the 2005 Mille Miglia, and the engine was replaced at one point.
But, three of the prominent four lots did not sell at a London auction that includes another Ferrari, an Aston Martin and a Lamborghini. The cars that failed to sell include a 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spyder, determined at $2.4 million to $2.9 million, and a 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT, one of only 75 built, valued at $1.24 million to $1.4 million. Buyers also passed on a red-and-gold 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV that was extensively restored in Australia in the mid-2000s. Reflecting increasing values for 1970s supercars, this was priced at $1.2 million to $1.4 million.
RM Auctions offered about 100 investment-grade cars in its annual sale at Battersea Park, south London. Including 25 motorcycles, the sale was estimated to raise between $19 million and $23 million. The equivalent event last year, featuring a James Bond Aston Martin DB5 at $4,6 million, made over $30 million with 87 percent of the cars successful. RM’s official selling rate this year, like the total sale figure, was not immediately available and Dave Selby, a senior analyst at the U.K.-based research company Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI), said he estimated it to be about 70 percent.
