Ferrari 250 GTO

When a car is worth millions of dollars, it is sure to become an icon among automotive enthusiasts. When that value skyrockets to tens of millions of dollars AND the car has a historical racing pedigree, it becomes legendary.

Such is the case of the Ferrari 250 GTO, one of only 36 racing cars made to race during the early 1960s and the current record holder for the world's most expensive Ferrari when chassis 4153GT sold in June 2018 for $70 million. The 250 GTO hand drawn here, chassis 3445, was first sold to Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata, a racing driver who competed under the S.S.S. Repubblica di Venezia insignia. Under his ownership, it won the Trophée d'Auvergne with Carlo Maria Abate as the driver.

In April 1963, it was purchased by Swede Ulf Norinder who changed its livery from the original red to the blue and yellow colors of Sweden to comply with racing regulations. The car took first place in the Vastkustloppet as well as second place twice in the Targa Florio, with Bordeu and Scarlatti at the wheel in 1963, and with Norinder and Pico Troiberg in 1964. The 1964 race was won as no. 112, the designation it wears to this day.

The 250 GTO eventually made its way to American collector Christopher Cox, who was unfortunately involved in a crash with the car while driving it during the lead-up to that year’s Le Mans Classic. It was sent to Ferrari Classiche who performed a complete repair and restoration over the course of two-and-a-half years.

Chassis 3445 is illustrated here in front of Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, a museum in Modena that is both the former house and workshop of Enzo Ferrari's father, Alfredo, and a new building that houses Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati exhibits. Next to the car is Enzo himself speaking to a mechanic while the fighter plane that inspired the Ferrari logo flies overhead. The story goes that the horse was painted on the fighter plane of Francesco Baracca, a pilot in WWI. Enzo met count Enrico Baracca, the airman's father, and his mother countess Paulina in 1923. Paulina instructed him to put her son’s prancing horse on his cars for good luck. Enzo agreed and added the canary yellow background to symbolize the color of his home city of Modena.