MONACO: The biennial RM Sotheby’s Monaco auction could well be the venue for the most expensive car sale of 2016, and that’s because one of the lots set to go under the hammer on May 14 is a 1968 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spider.
The title of ‘the most expensive car ever sold at auction’ belongs to a Ferrari 250 GTO (US$38mil), and with the exception of Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 F1 car (third place, US$30mil) every car currently parked in the all-time top 10 is also a Ferrari.
But when this NART Spider rolls out into the Monaco sunshine and bidding commences, it is destined to end up well and truly in the top 10 if not the top five all-time list.
Classic Ferraris have become so collectable and so attractive to high-rollers as an investment that even models built as recently as the mid-1990s are starting to see some healthy appreciation.
And this interest in classics is raising the levels of Ferraris much more than any other storied automotive marque.
The Ferrari 250 GTO sold for US$38mil.
So much so that many think we’ve seen peak Ferrari and the bubble is about to burst. But whatever the direction the market heads, the sheer rarity of the NART Spider – only 10 were ever built – plus its styling and performance, will be more than enough to ensure a record is set.
RM Sotheby’s has given the car a very conservative US$21 million (RM82.2mil) estimate.
“It is a privilege to present this NART Spider,” said Rob Myers, Chairman and CEO, RM Sotheby’s “Its offering at auction is such an extraordinary event. Ownership of a NART Spider represents membership in a club of only nine other enthusiasts around the world. If a Ferrari is the choice of car connoisseurs, then the NART Spider is the choice of Ferrari connoisseurs.”
But what makes the car so special It’s partly its combination of Italian engineering and American ingenuity. US Ferrari importer and race team owner Luigi Chinetti pitched the idea of a roofless take of the 274 GTB/4 to Enzo Ferrari himself, exclusive to the US market and each carrying Chinetti’s NART (North American Racing Team) badge. However, the Scaglietti-styled car was too expensive, and production stopped after 10 rather than 25 examples.
The last time one came up for auction in 2013 it fetched a remarkable US$27.9mil.
Keyword: Ferrari: An expensive affair