A Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa rewrote the history books when it went under the hammer for a staggering $14.9m (£10,281,000) at Gooding & Co in Monterey, California on 20 August. The result smashed the existing record of €9,020,000 paid for a car at auction held, fittingly, by another Testa Rossa: chassis 0714TR, which rival sale house RM sold at its Ferrari auction in Maranello in May 2009.
Boss David Gooding was understandably upbeat about the result: “A lot of people have been asking me about the impact of the recent stock-market crash on the classic car world – well there’s your answer.”
Gooding’s record car - chassis 0666TR - was the prototype 250 Testa Rossa and comes with enviable period racing provenance and continuous history, including a first in class at the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.