A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB Spider sold for $27,500,000 at RM Auctions in Monterey – the highest price ever paid for a road-going car.
A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider became the most-expensive road-going car ever sold at auction when it achieved $27,500,000 at the RM Auctions sale in Monterey on August 18, 2013. The magnificent result was the second highest price ever paid for a car at auction and made the Spider the most valuable Ferrari ever.
(Update: New Record: $38 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at Bonhams 2014 Quail Lodge sale as the most-expensive car ever sold at public auction.)
The Most-Expensive Ferrari Ever
The 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider sold by RM Auctions in Monterey was always expected to sell at a premium but the $27,500,000 achieved shattered both expectations and records. The result was the highest price ever paid for a road-going car and for a Ferrari.
The result also came remarkably close to the record $29,650,000 paid at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed auction in July 2013 for a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 racing car – still the most-expensive car ever.
The previous record price for a Ferrari was the $16,390,000 paid in 2011 for a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa at a Gooding auction in Pebble Beach. This Ferrari, which held the record auction price for two years, is now the third most-expensive car ever.
Note: At the 2014 Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed auction, a 1954 Ferrari 375 Plus sold for $18.3 million, as the most expensive Ferrari racing car ever sold at public auction.
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider
The 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider that sold for $27,500,000 is not surprisingly one of the rarest cars in the world. Only 10 cars of these spiders, as opposed to the more common berlinettas, were built during the 1960s for Luigi Chinetti, the importer of Ferraris to the United States. The cars originally sold for around $8,000.
Super cars exchange owners rather often but this Ferrari 275 GTB remained in the hands of the original family since new. It was sold as part of the estate of the late Eddie Smith Sr. with proceeds being donated to various charities.
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider featured a 300 bhp 3,286 cc four overhead-camshaft V-12 engine fed by six Webber carburetors, a five-speed manual transmission, four-wheel upper and lower wishbone independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, and tubular steel frame. The original color was metallic blue but changed to red in the 1980s.
The RM Auctions sale in Monterey on August 17 and 18, 2013, was one of the most profitable classic and collector car sales ever with 26 cars achieving more than a million dollars.
See also other prices paid at recent classic car auctions.