A red 1964 Ferrari sold for a stunning $14.3 million at a record-setting auction of trophy cars.
The Ferrari 250 LM had been estimated at $12 million to $15 million before the bidding began Thursday at the “Art of the Automobile” auction, the first car auction in Manhattan in more than a decade.
The Ferrari 250 LM has long been considered one of the golden treasure among car collectors. Only 32 examples of it were produced, including the last Ferrari to win the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1965.
The previous record for a Ferrari LM was a mere $6.9 million.
The Ferrari was sold Thursday to an anonymous buyer via telephone. It went under the hammer during a feverish two-hour session in which 31 cars sold for a total of $62.8 million.
More than half of the cars sold fetched $1 million-plus, said Sotheby’s, which held the auction in coordination with RM Auctions. Also sold were two motorcycles and seven pieces of artwork.
Between 1,200 and 1,500 visitors a day came to view the cars before the auction. That was one of the highest attendance rates for Sotheby’s, it said.
Also sold Thursday was an Art Deco-inspired, cream-colored 1938 Talbot-Lago cabriolet made by French coachbuilders Figoni et Falaschi. It fetched $7.15 million, topping the previous record for a Talbot-Lago of $4.8 million.
Despite the Ferrari’s stunning price, it was far from the record for a car sold at auction.
The Ferrari LM moved into fourth place, behind a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 Single-Seater that sold for $29.65 million, a 1967 Ferrari 275 that went for $27.5 million and a 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa prototype that fetched $16.39 million.