Michael Schumacher's 1998 race-winning Ferrari F300 left two people very happy at the end of the day at RM-Sotheby's prestigious auction at Monterey, the seller of the illustrious car and its lucky new owner.
The Scuderia's charger - specifically chassis #187 designed by a team of engineers led by Rory Byrne under the guidance of Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn – boasts an undefeated track record.
It was entered in four races in 1998 - in Canada, France, Great Britain and Italy - and won all four events with Schumacher at the wheel.
That valued statistic was likely partly responsible for producing the highest bid which came in at $6,220,000!
©TheCahierArchive
It wasn't the highest price ever paid for a modern F1 car at an auction, with that record held by another ex-Schumacher machine, the 2001 Ferrari 2001 that was sold last year for a whopping $7,504,000!
But the highlight of Saturday's RM-Sotheby's auction at Monterey was the sale of one of the most significant purpose-built Ferrari “big block” sports-racing prototypes from the 1950s.
The 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider - raced in period by, among others, Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, Eugenio Castellotti, Masten Gregory, Richie Ginther and Jo Bonnie - went under the hammer for an eye-watering $22,005,000!
©RMSotheby's
One of the car's precious originalities, in addition to its Sergio Scaglietto designed coachwork, is its original fuel tank on which are inscribed a few words by Shelby:
"Mr. Ferrari told me that this was the best Ferrari he ever built".
Sold to you!
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