A rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4 million at RM Sotheby's annual collector car sale in Monterey, California. The sale set a world record for any car ever sold at auction. It beat out a Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta that sold for $38 million in 2014. Not close behind was a 1957 Ferrari that sold for $35 million in Paris, France, in 2016.
Considered "the Holy Grail in collectible cars," the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was sold by former Microsoft executive Greg Whitten. CNBC's Robert Frank spoke to Whitten on why he's selling the car before the auction took place on August 25.
The $48 million race car sold won the 1962 Italian GT championship and has over 15 class and overall wins from 1962 to 1965. Phil Hill, the first American to be a Formula 1 World Champion, was a driver for the car.
Classic Ferrari GTOs are known to be some of Ferrari's most successful racing cars. They are rare because only 36 GTOs were ever made, and they are all still running.
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