by Mike –
These two very interesting cars were auctioned by RM recently in Monterey.
The Ferrari 250 LM sold for 67% more than the Ford GT40 Roadster. Below are the summaries from the RM catalog of each car, the photos are mine from the RM preview.
Here is my summary of the differences that I see:
* Neither car has a period race history – so no difference.
* The Ferrari 250 LM is red and the Ford GT40 Roadster is white. Red usually beats white at an auction.
* The Ferrari 250 LM is a coupe and the Ford GT40 Roadster is a roadster. Usually the roadster beats a coupe at auction.
* The Ferrari 250 LM was crashed and damaged badly and it was bought in 1972 by my friend, Ron Kellogg, who sold the engine to be used in a 250 GTO and later sold the rest of the Ferrari to someone else. Many years later after a long and complicated story this 250 LM was reunited with it’s original engine and original chassis number stamp. Whew, that’s good.
* The Ford GT40 Roadster is “The only GT40 Roadster to have continually survived in its original form” according to RM and thus it is a one-of-a-kind.
* Usually the shorter the “story” the better and here the Ford GT40 story is much, much shorter and easier to understand than the 250 LM story.
* The race history for the Ferrari 250 LM model shows one Le Mans win and the history of the Ford GT40 model shows many Le Mans wins. Usually the race history of the model effects the value of those models.
* There is only one Ford GT40 Roadster left in it’s original configuration (this one) and there are many Ferrari 250 LMs still around (many being a relative term for a car with only 32 made). Usually rarity is an advantage at auction.
So, I am stumped as to why this Ferrari 250 LM sold for several million dollars more than this Ford GT40 Roadster. Any ideas? Oh, wait could the design of the badge make that big of a difference? One is a prancing horse (a stallion) and the other is a blue oval. Makes you think.
Let us know in the Comments what you think about the big price difference between these two special cars.
1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype
RM said,
380 hp, 289 cu. in. V-8 engine with four Weber 48IDA carburetors, four-speed manual transmission, four-wheel independent suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase: 95 in.
The first of six GT40 Roadsters built
The eighth of only twelve GT40 prototypes
The only GT40 Roadster to have continually survived in its original form
Built for Shelby American as a test and development vehicle
Driven by Ken Miles, Carroll Shelby, Jim Clark, and other legends
Carefully documented by GT40 historian Ronnie Spain
A 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance award winner
Single prominent ownership for over two decades
Simply put, one of the finest, most original, and certainly the rarest examples of the Ford GT40 in existence
Sold for $6,930,000
1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti
RM said,
20 hp, 3,286 aluminum-block V-12 engine with six Weber 38 DCN carburetors, five-speed transmission, independent suspension with front and rear unequal length wishbones with coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers, and anti-roll bars, and four-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase: 94.4 in.
The 19th of 32 examples constructed
Retained for personal use by William F. Harrah
Presented with Red Book certification by Ferrari Classiche
Multiple-award winner at 2014 Cavallino Classic
Displayed at the 1969 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Frequent concours and historic racing entrant
Sold for $11,550,000
Sell your classic car on My Car Quest – click here.
My last published article on my website, covering the gathering of exotic sports cars at the Old Brogue in Great Falls, Virginia for the past 4 years and currently ( where we’ve had a Sauid Prince -owned pearlescent white Bugatti Veyron Grand sport visit , was entitled ” So Where’s Ralph Laurens’ Ford GT40? ”
http://roguesgalleryjournal.com/ wear I attempt to bring to task the conscious omission of the only true American exotic to beat Ferrari at Le Mans 4 consecutive years in a row ( BTW: A history that will be very graphically reminding the sports racing world with the production of a major feature film of the book ” Run Like Hell” ) asking why the *only* car of American heritage in Citizen Lauren’s world famous collection , made even more world famous by being exhibited at the gawd-almighty Louvre in 2011 as works of automotive art is a Willy’s Jeep and a Ford Woody? Really?
You’d think 100 years of American automotive history hadn’t produced a single sports car deemed *worthy* of Citizen Laurens’ collection who has earned at least one third of his $6 billion fashion empire celebrating his *Americaness* in his designer clothesline which , in the case of his Denim Supply line ,wraps his young models in designer shredded ,tattered & torn Old Glory jeans. Give us all a break will ya please.
The point of this aticle of mine was to make the case why , if there were any American sports car, with the proven historic street cred of 4 LeMans in a row wins over Ferrari, it remains the Ford GT 40.
Apparently the only Ford GT 40 to see the equally historic $11 million record price was one used as the camera car in Steve MacQeen’s film “Le Mans”. Apparently a Hollywood souvenir outranks actual car collector’s pedigree
Italian. American. End of.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141405020885
50/50. Half a chance. Only $150k.
It seems to me that Dean Jeffries ,California based car builder had a GT40 roadster and I know that he passed sometime last year, he had owned it from the 60’s I believe.
Dave Craddock
Your correct that was Dean’s Jeffrie’s car, he is also the same guy who Painted “Littlr Bastard” on James Dean’s 550 Spyder and built the Monkeemobile . Interesting guy.
Mistake It seems there are two! RM’s being chassis 108 and Jeffries being 109
I have my garage built now and will start restoration of my beloved Lotus Europa soon. But first, I had a comment on today’s article about the 250LM and the Ford GT-40…
I had only a couple of classes in high school where I shared the room with Ferrari restoration artist/historian Butch Dennison. I went on to manage a bicycle shop, then a full career in the USPS as a letter carrier. He went on to work at INDY as crew member on various teams — I remember only Scott Brayton (the VERY BRIGHTLY colored Amway car) but he was busy and worked at several. He finally met up with Pete Lovely and had a partnership with him that saw restoration on Pete’s Lotus 49B and the beautiful Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (eventually I saw Phil Hill run it at Portland’s PIR — close to the Concours — and finally put it into a four wheel drift in turn 9 as a grim faced Pete watched on!!).
Butch ended up working for mostly the well payed Microsoft clientelle restoring all kinds of really nice racing cars. It was really a great opportunity to see the stuff he was working on to restore, but eventually I became busy and had less time to visit over the years.
I do, however, remember the time I finally had something worthwhile to notice in my work truck mirrors. Who knows how many times I peered through those mirrors in my career? This time the car was a red 250. As I had done quicky so many times in my career, the engine was shut down, the four ways activated, and my seatbelt released, the parking brake set, and the gear lever put into park, and I jumped out to hear it better. Totally worth it. What a symphony of sound. I remember thinking about what a risk the owner was taking being out there (of course I had seen all kinds of crazy stuff people do all of the time) but being happy I could see the car and hear its soul.
I also remember thinking that for the car being rather plain compared to others Ferrari commissioned bodywork for, that it looked really hideous and garrish from the angle I saw it from. I was really shocked that just a slight change in viewing angle would reveal a completely different impression than I previously had about that bodywork. Those front fenders looked huge! I have looked at toys of the car since then trying to get that impression and I haven’t figured out the correct angle yet…
Your friend, Dan Rinker
Mike, I wondered about the claim that the car had never been raced, as I know there was
one running at Nurburgring and other European races back in the 60’s.
It’s surprising that the car had been raced!!