RM Auctions, in conjunction with Sotheby's, held their third annual Ferrari Leggende e Passione auction this past weekend. The star of the event was a 1957 250 TR chassis #0714TR, one of only 22 "pontoon-fender" Testa Rossas built, and this one was successfully campaigned by privateer owners from 1958 to 1963. It has been fully restored and features its original race black and red livery. The car was expected to break the record price for a car sold at auction, set last year by RM at the same event by a 1961 250 GT California Spyder, and it didn't disappoint. 0714TR brought a final price of €9,020,000, or about $12,169,784 at the current exchange rate.
Is this 250 TR worth the price? Think of it this way. Prominent works of art regularly sell for tens of millions of dollars and have even surpassed $100 million several times. If you consider the 250 TR a piece of artwork, with Ferrari and Scaglietti as the artists, then $12 million is a bargain. Plus, you can't rev a Picasso to 8,000 rpm or take it vintage racing.
[Source: RM Auctions]
