March 29, 2024

chasepost

Built General Tough

Most expensive classic car in the world auctioned

D.he spiral for ever more expensive luxury goods continues unabated. The latest example: The red Ferrari 250 GTO, built in 1962, changed hands for $ 38 million. Only 39 of the car were built. It was also the last model with a classic 3-liter V12 engine from designer guru Giotto Bizzarrini to leave Ferrari in a dispute in 1962.

Franz Nestler

It was auctioned by the Bonhams auction house in the luxury hotel “The Quail” on the Monterey Peninsula near San Francisco. The former owner, the Italian Fabrizio Violati, died 4 years ago. He himself bought the car for 2.5 million lire, which at the time was equivalent to around 16,000 marks. Ferraris in particular have recently become more and more valuable. Some models have gained 60 percent in value, as the index of the Historic Automobile Group International shows.

Change for ten years in percent


Change for ten years in percent
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Image: FAZ

That shows a trend that exists in the luxury goods market. The most expensive of the expensive products are becoming more and more valuable, while the luxury market is stagnating across the board. For comparison: the most expensive classic car to date, a Ferrari 275 GTB / 4 NART Spider, changed hands last year for $ 27.5 million. But the spiral is not only turning in the classic car market.

That shows the luxury investment index of the consulting agency Knight Frank. This contains nine exquisite luxury goods: in addition to vintage cars, Chinese ceramics, coins, antique furniture, jewelery, wine, postage stamps and watches, as well as art. Each of these categories is based on a single index calculated by market experts. These are summarized by Knight Frank in the luxury investment index and weighted according to the popularity and relative value of the luxury good.

Cars, coins and stamps


Cars, coins and stamps
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Image: FAZ

The index rose by 179 percent over the past 10 years. Classic cars in the Knight Frank index proved to be particularly valuable – without surprise. Last year alone they increased by 28 percent. The analysts at Knight Frank see the strong demand for cars from Asia as the reason for the sharp increase, where they have an even greater cult factor than in Germany. The financial blog Alphaville asked last year whether there was a threat of a classic car bubble.