Second hand car sells for £22.84 million

Next time you change your car and have a grumble at the price for the additional extras, spare a thought for the anonymous bidder who just paid the best part of £23 million (roughly 28.7 million euros) for a 52-year-old Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta at auctioneer Bonhams’ sale in Carmel, California.

Regarded as one of the greatest Ferrari´s and one of only 39, the sale was watched by a huge crowd who broke into spontaneous applause as the auctioneer’s hammer came down on the most expensive car sale ever.

The GTO was the 19th of the 39 driven off the assembly line in 1962 and had been owned by a family of motor racing enthusiasts since 1965.

The car was involved in a fatal accident in October 1962when a tyre blowout at 100 mph caused the Ferrari to flip at the Linas-Montlhéry autodrome, France killing driver, former Olympic ski champion Henri Oreiller.

Ferrari repaired the car and new owners, the Violati family continued to race it from 1965.

Bonhams’ chairman Robert Brooks said: “It’s been a genuine privilege to represent this outstanding car and we are absolutely delighted with today’s results.”