The 1962 Ferrari 330 LM made history on Monday as it set a new record for the highest price ever paid for a Ferrari at auction. The auction, hosted by RM Sotheby’s, saw the final bid come in at a staggering $47 million. When the buyer’s fee was included, the final sale price reached an even more astonishing $51,705,000, eclipsing the previous record of $48.4 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold by RM Sotheby’s in 2018.
The $51.7 million sale price for the 330 LM was somewhat lower than many experts had predicted. It was anticipated that the rare and historic Ferrari would fetch around $60 million. This speculation was fueled by the knowledge that a 1963 250 GTO had sold privately in 2018 for a rumored $70 million, and that a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, one of only two Uhlenhaut Coupe examples, had sold for over $140 million.
The 330 LM is an incredibly rare car, even more so than the 250 GTO, and is a significant piece of automotive history. It is a further development of the iconic 250 GTO, designed to comply with changing FIA regulations. Ferrari only built four 330 LMs, as the company was preparing to move to a mid-engine platform. Out of these four, only two were built with bodywork resembling the 250 GTO, and the car that was just sold, bearing chassis no. 3765, is one of the two.
Easily recognizable by the bulge in its hood, which accommodates the larger 4.0-liter V-12 engine used in the 330 LM, the car represents a significant leap forward from the 250 GTO. This larger engine produced an impressive 385 horsepower, a considerable increase over the 250 GTO’s 300 horsepower from its 3.0-liter engine.
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During its racing career, the 330 LM utilized two different 4.0-liter V-12 engines. With its first engine, it finished second overall and first in class in a 1,000-kilometer race at the Nürburgring in 1962. Later that year, it received an upgraded 4.0-liter engine for the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, the race from which it takes its LM suffix. Although the car’s qualifying performance was impressive, it ultimately failed to finish the race.
After retiring from racing, the car was sold in 1964 to Pietro Ferraro, who had Ferrari revert it to a 3.0-liter V-12 so that it could be fielded as a GTO in Italian GT racing. It was then sold to Ferdinando Latteri, who raced it around Sicily and in the 1965 Targa Florio, although he too failed to finish.
In 1967, the car made its way back to Ferrari before eventually being purchased by California resident Mario Tosi and then traded multiple times before ending up with Ohio resident Jim Jaeger in 1985. Jaeger was the seller at the historic auction earlier this week.
The 1962 Ferrari 330 LM bearing chassis no. 3765 is an extraordinary piece of automotive history. Its illustrious racing career, combined with its rarity and historical significance as a further evolution of the iconic 250 GTO, have undoubtedly contributed to its record-breaking sale price. As it changes hands and becomes part of a new collection, it will continue to be a reminder of the heights that automotive engineering and design can reach.
