It is well recognised that the Ferrari is one of the more expensive cars ever built and sold when new. A new British record has just been set however when a 1963 250 GTO was auctioned and became the most expensive car ever sold in Britain.
With the economic crisis refusing to go away, the smart money continues to look for places where the best returns are guaranteed. It is highly unlikely however that any average investor could imagine the safe haven for your growth fund to be a classic Ferrari.
However, after selling his particular GTO on auction, businessman Jon Hunt made a return of £4.5m in just three years. In 2008 the entrepreneur and former owner of Foxton’s Estate Agency bought the car for a record then of £15.7m. Earlier this month the vintage car went under the hammer for a new record of £20.2m.
Given the laws of supply and demand, it is no surprise that this model is as highly valued as only 39 of them were lovingly hand-built by the Italian motor house between 1962 and 1964. Most of us would buy any Ferrari for its intrinsic beauty alone. However, it seems as though Ferrari GTOs seem to be the investment vehicle of choice of late. John Collins, specialist Ferrari dealer said ‘Wealthy people are spending a lot of money on classic Ferraris and everyone wants a GTO at the moment. Classic Ferraris have seen more gains than others; they’re like the Picassos of the car world. And the 250 GTO is the golden car of its generation, show me a man who wouldn’t want one. They are bought by people who have a love of cars and see them as an investment.’
Other luminary owners include Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Chris Evans. Whilst Evans paid £12m for his Series II model in 2012, Mason has owned his since 1975. He is either a true fan, or an extremely long-term investor. Whilst the current economic downturn has seen demand for these cars soar, there are many inherent benefits to owning one of these beautiful sports cars. The 250 GTO, so called after the displacement of the cylinders, was powered by a 3.0 litre V12 engine which pushed out 300 bhp and reached 60 mph from standing in just 6.1 seconds. A top speed of 174 miles per hour was achieved by this car when first produced in the early sixties. This enabled it to win many races on the FIA circuits of Europe at that time.
Whilst it seems that discerning owners for Ferraris are falling over themselves to get their hands on one now, legend has it that Enzo Ferrari personally vetted every potential new purchaser originally. We can only wonder who lost out on the chance to be the proud owner of one of the first supercars.
If you do not have £20 million lying around to invest in your own Ferrari then we suggest maybe hiring one is the more affordable option!