World's Most Expensive Motor Car: Ferrari 250 TR goes for $12m+

Italian racing cars bearing the prancing horse logo defined the post-WWII era when sportscar racing sent down its initial roots in North America. A 250 Testarossa from that era sold for more than $12m over the weekend at RM Auction's third annual Ferrari Leggende e Passione festival on the grounds of Ferrari's Maranello factory in north central Italy. That makes this 1957 model the most expensive motor car ever sold, surpassing a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that sold at this auction last year for $10.9m.

Bearing serial number 0714TR, this stunning example of Italian coachwork features the signature Scaglietti pontoon fenders. The car was raced competitively from 1958 through 1963, the Elkhart Lake 500 that year being its final professional outing. Original owner and future coachbuilder Piero Drogo with co-driver Sergio Gonzalez placed 0714TR fourth in its 1958 1000km of Buenos Aires competition debut behind the 1-2 finishing, factory-entered 250 Testarossa 58s of Peter Collins/Phil Hill/Mike Hawthorne and Wolfgang von Trips/Olivier Gendebien/Luigi Musso and the third place Porsche 550 RS of Stirling Moss/Jean Behra/Huschke von Hanstein/Edgar Barth.

The 250 TR's aluminum 2953cc over-square V12 delivered 300hp through a Fichtel-Sachs single-plate dry clutch and 4-speed gearbox to a ZF limited-slip differential. Suspension was independent in the front with coils and a live rear axle, also with coils. The 250 TR had drum brakes front and rear.

Texas cattleman Alan Connell purchased 0714TR from North American Ferrari distributor Luigi Chinetti in 1959 and it won several races in the hands of Connell and other American drivers.

As to its latest ownership transfer, RM Europe's managing director Max Girardo said, "The quality and the provenance of the Testarossa speaks for itself and the price we achieved today is testament to that."