Only 36 of These Were Made, and One Just Sold at Auction

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold at auction over the weekend for $48.4 million—setting a world record for the most money ever paid for a car at auction, CNNMoney reports. Thirty-six 250 GTOs were made and all are still running, creating an exclusive club of owners; this particular car was just the third ever made, but was given a new body in 1963. It won more than 15 races between 1962 and 1965 including the 1962 Italian GT Championship, and was driven by prominent racers including Phil Hill, the first American to become a Formula 1 world champion.

It sold at RM Sotheby's annual Monterey collector car sale; its lot description notes that it is "considered by marque experts to be one of the most authentic and original of all GTO examples" and a Sotheby's press release describes it as "the holy grail of collector cars." Cars have sold for higher prices privately, including a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO that reportedly sold for $70 million. (More Ferrari stories.)