One Of The World’s Most Valuable Cars Is Now This Ferrari 335 S

Photos Courtesy of Artcurial Motors

Artcurial Motorcars just sold this 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti for 32.1m Euros, inclusive of buyer’s premium, at its Rétromobile sale. That topped the previous record of 28.5m Euros set in 2014. Given differences in exchange rates, its valuation at about $35.7m Usd. falls a bit short of the previous record’s $38m Usd.—but at this end of the market, a few hundred thousand dollars is almost trivial. 

To us, how much a car is worth isn’t nearly as important as how it drives, the emotions it evokes, or the history it represents. Get all of these attributes in a single car that just happens to be a classic Ferrari, and it’s possible that history may be rewritten. For more on this amazing vehicle, read our pre-auction preview of it, or memorize the highlights:

Who’s raced this car in period? Peter Collins, Maurice Trintignant, Wolfgang von Trips, Mike Hawthorn, Luigi Musso, Masten Gregory, Stirling Moss, Gaston Andrey, and Lance Reventlow.

Where did it race? The 1957 Sebring 12 Hours (6th), the 1957 Mille Miglia (2nd), the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans (DNF), and the 1957 Cuba Grand Prix (1st), among other venues.

What’s under the hood? In its final (and current) specification, a 4.1-litre Ferrari V12 engine, featuring twelve individual intake plenums to punch out about 400 horsepower.

What else? It was the first car to set a lap record at an average speed above 200 km/h during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it did while leading ahead of the factory Jaguar D-Types. Averaging one hundred and twenty-five miles an hour over a racing lap was quite the feat—and still is. It was later owned by astute French collector Pierre Bardinon, whose estate offered it through Artcurial Motorcars.