Ferrari 335 S Breaks Auction Records

A 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti (chassis 0674) sold for $35,711,359 (€32,075,200, £24,693,782) at the Artcurial Retromobile 2016 auction, held Friday, February 5th at the Retromobile Show in Paris. Depending on the currency, the Ferrari offered from the Pierre Bardinon Collection set a new world record for the most expensive motor car ever sold at auction.

Using the Euro and Sterling, the sale price for the 335 S broke the all-time auction record set in 2014 by the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (€28,528,626, £22,843,633), although it finished second when converted to dollars ($38,115,000 USD). The Ferrari 335 S Spider was estimated to sell for $30,000,000 – $34,000,000 (€28,000,000 – 32,000,000, £21,500,000 – 24,600,000).

Built in 1957, the Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti (chassis 0674) was first driven by Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant in the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours, then by Wolfgang von Trips in the Mille Miglia in May of that year, where it finished in second place. Mike Hawthorn drove the car in the 24 Heures du Mans, setting the first lap record in the history of the event of over 200km/h.

0674 has many more races to its name including the Swedish Grand Prix and Venezuela Grand Prix in 1957, as well as the Cuba Grand Prix, which it won at the hands of racing legend Sir Stirling Moss in 1958. In 1970, chassis 0674 was bought by collector Pierre Bardinon, who during the second half of the twentieth century amassed around fifty factory Ferrari comprising the most iconic models in the history of the brand.

Artcurial reported that the room fell silent as the lights were dimmed and 0674 appeared on the stage, positioned in front of the podium. Matthieu Lamoure, Managing Director of Artcurial Motorcars, presented the car in English to the bidders in the saleroom, describing the history, design and provenance of the 1957 Ferrari 335 S Scaglietti.

Maitre Hervé Poulain started the bidding at 20 millions euros. A minute later, several people in the room and on the telephone were involved and bids rose to 26 millions euros. It was a further ten minutes before an international bidder in the room triumphed over the only telephone bidder to remain in the battle. To loud applause, the hammer came down at 28 millions euros (without commission).

Matthieu Lamoure, Managing Director of Artcurial Motorcars said, “This exceptional Ferrari 335 S Scaglietti #0674 has achieved the highest auction price in international history (in euros and sterling), here in France, the home of the automobile, and in Paris, the world’s capital for collectors’ cars during the winter season.”

[Source: Artcurial]