A 1957 Ferrari racing car driven by 1958 F1 world champion Mike Hawthorn and fellow great Sir Stirling Moss fetched €32m (£24.7m) at the Artcurial Motorcars auction held on Friday in Paris’ Retromobile classic car event.
This Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti thus becomes the most expensive car ever sold, surpassing the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta that had gone for €28.5 million (£22.8m) in August 2014 at a Bonham’s event.
Initially fitted with a four-cam 3.8-litre V12 Tipo 140 engine and bodywork by Scaglietti, the #0674 chassis was first raced during the 12 Hours of Sebring in the hands of multiple grand prix winners Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant.
Wolfgang Von Trips also featured amongst the prominent drivers who raced the Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti, with the German ace taking the car to a second-place finish in the 1957 installment of the iconic Mille Miglia.
The machine's engine was then increased to 4 100 cc ahead of a 1958 Le Mans 24 Hours bid with Hawthorn and Luigi Musso sharing driving duties. The future F1 champion took an early lead in the grueling twice-around-the-clock classic and went on to clock the first 200kph-plus lap time around the iconic La Sarthe venue.
That same year, the car also won the exotic Cuban Grand Prix – which featured a high profile kidnapping of F1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio by the rebel forces – in the hands of Moss and US racer Masten Gregory.
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