Vintage Ferrari Spyder Sold For Highest Price Ever At Car Auction (PHOTOS)

A record was set for the highest price ever paid for a vintage car at auction when a 1961 Ferrari California Spyder was sold for almost $11 million (from CNN):

A 1961 Ferrari California Spyder sold for $10,894,900 at an auction in Maranello, Italy, Saturday. It was the highest price ever paid for a vintage car at auction, according to RM Auctions and Sotheby's, the companies that organized the sale.

The previous record was set in 1990 when Sotheby's sold a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO in Monaco for $10,756,000.

But that was a race car, not a convertible designed for driving on the street, pointed out McKeel Hagerty, president of Hagerty Insurance, a company that insures high-value collectible cars in Europe and North America.

Ferrari race cars have traditionally sold for much higher figures than the company's street cars, Hagerty said.

"Ferrari 250 GTO's are now selling privately for twice that," he said

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Scroll down for photos of the 1961 Ferrari California Spyder (from Autoblog).

Comments

[shaman]

Beautiful car. Keep in mind that the US$ is not worth the same today as in 1990. Take inflation into account and the price is substantially less in adjusted dollars.

Me, rather have a hemicuda..­.

[LORISNJ]

I have no problem with the very wealthy buying their expensive toys as long as they pay their employees a living wage with retirement benefits. If they can't afford to pay they should not be able to afford these kinds of unnecessary extravagances. It smacks of "Let them eat cake", and we know how that turned out....

[radicalcentrist44]

Wow, everything has to be political on this website. I wonder if the buyer used Carfax.

[95flhtcu]

Carfax....­. LMAO!!!

[Grinner]

It was bought by a British guy. Gas is even more expensive over there, but at least he can take it cruising through Europe where it was meant to ride.

[droog]

British television and radio personality Chris Evans bought the car.

[BillyT]

except in Britain speed cameras are everywhere so he would have to take the Chunnel to the continent and then get through more speeding cameras to get it to the Autobahn.

[GeoNorth]

Ferrari's are works of art. That said, this is nuts.

[Raymondf]

Some people got more money than sence. I wouldn't pay more than 600.00 for the first model-t that came off the first assembly line.

[Tamalpais]

There are a lot of model T's out there. There are probably only a handful of these. I doubt that they made more than 50 of them.

[CommanderWhitehead]

Dear speakingtruth2power

$11 million is chump-change for the very few who are doing very well is this fabulous "land of (limited) opportunity".

Someone said (I think it was David Geffen) that after the first billion, the rest is just a way of keeping score, but you are right, we are clearly losing our way (and if you happen to believe in the soul, we're losing that as well).

[speakingtruth2power]

Sure it's a beauty and i love the sports cars of the late 50' and early 60's,

but the selling price only proves that the gap between the rich and poor

has become increasingly unfair, immoral and definitely, unChristian!!!

[flacon]

So are you assuming the buyer is unfair, immoral and non-christian? Not all rich people fit your stereotype.

[BillLumbergh]

That's not what the poster wrote.
Pay attention.

[MikeMidCity]

Wrong, it is un-Christian to horde wealth.

[FullChat]

Isn't this the car owned by Paul Newman?

[droog]

No, James Coburn.

[CommanderWhitehead]

Dear Joeblue

Actually, you're correct. Karl Rove is too much of a slob to appreciate or even understand a car like this.

I've read that he drives a Jaguar, but I'll wager, in his hollow heart...he would really rather drive a Mustang.

Apart from the fact that the Jaguar has essentially devolved into a piece of sh#t on four wheels, it seems to provide people who are aesthetically and mechanically challenged with a "cosmopolitan veneer", so to speak.

It allows Mr. Rove to feel as if he's hip, and in the know.

Robert (the-bridge-troll) Novak on the other hand, has an even less developed sense of self awareness. He cruises the dingy streets of D.C. in a red Corvette convertible ( when the wind is low, he simply adds an extra glob of epoxy to that comb-over and it's top-down all the way).

[prattvictory]

A Jaguar has always been a piece of sh#t on four wheels.

[whereswaldoandobl]

Yeah right, that's why Jaguar won so many Le Mans races over the years.

[RTIII]

I'm wondering:

Original paint?

Never wrecked?

No Rust - Ever?

Original Upholstery? Engine? Wheels?

Has ANYTHING been rechromed?

etc.

There's a LOT that goes into the value of an automobile­...

[Joeblue]

So who bought it I wonder? Some slob like Karl Rove, now that would be the real shame of it.

[white mende man]

the world is not consumed by politics alone please get a life.

[OkieMon]

where's the classic ferrari red? a red one would have sold for 15 mill....

[DrFelch]

I'll never understand the psychology of those that participate in this "hobby" of buying hugely expensive cars that will seldom, if ever, be driven. There are a lot of starving people in the world,etc, and everything is going to hell in a handbasket quite rapidly, but, go ahead, spend 10+million on a 47 year old hunk of metal that will basically become a glorified paperweight.

[Tamalpais]

How can you call this a "hunk of metal"? This is a piece of art. Would you have the same opinion of someone buying a painting? Since the buyer was not revealed you have no idea of their philanthropic ways. If they can afford it and they enjoy it they deserve to own it. This is what the car is worth and it was for sale. If you knew anything about the culture around these types of cars you would know that in order to show it at the concourse in Pebble Beach or similar events, the owner has to make a significant contribution to an approved charity.

[whereswaldoandobl]

If these owners can preserve these true examples of craftsmanship for future generations then there is a valid purpose to be served.

[radicalcentrist44]

I am sure that we can find alot of items that you don't need and the money could be used to feed the starving people. I love judgemental people.

[droog]

Umm, when a hunk of bronze shaped like a women by Giacometti goes for $27 million, what's wrong with someone with the dough buying a hunk of metal, plastic and leather like a 250 GT?

[bola47]

think i'll put my 1996 impala up for bid.