Few cars carry the weight of legend quite like the Ferrari 250 GTO. Only 36 examples were ever built between 1962 and 1964, making each one a rolling piece of automotive history.
When one surfaces for sale, attention extends far beyond usual collector circles.
Next month, Mecum Auctions offers one of these rare icons at its Kissimmee 2026 event, and it could easily challenge existing sales records.
This particular 250 GTO, affectionately known as Bianco Speciale, is especially unusual.
It’s the only 250 GTO Ferrari ever painted white from the factory. On top of that, it’s one of just eight configured in right-hand drive.
John Coombs, the British racing team owner who commissioned it in 1962, sent the car to Scaglietti and requested the unthinkable: pearly white paint.
Ferrari insisted on reds at the time, but Coombs pulled strings through Alfredo Reali to deliver a genuine exception.
That rare stroke of influence turned Bianco Speciale into an automotive anomaly, forever separating it from ruby-red siblings.
The racing resume reads like a who’s who of 1960s motorsport. Roy Salvadori drove it to second place at Brands Hatch during the Peco Trophy on August 6, 1962.
Two weeks later at Goodwood’s RAC Tourist Trophy, Graham Hill landed second again, helping Ferrari secure the GT Manufacturers’ crown.
The car achieved second at the RAC Tourist Trophy Race at Goodwood in both 1962 and 1963, then took first in the 1963 Guards Trophy Race at Brands Hatch.
Mike MacDowel, Jack Sears, and Richie Ginther all piloted the GTO through various victories.
Coombs eventually loaned Bianco Speciale to Jaguar engineers for reverse engineering, helping inspire the Lightweight E-type.
In racing seasons that followed, Coombs raced both cars at key events, almost like a head-to-head test in public.
The GTO’s raw performance and sharp handling proved harder to beat on the biggest stages.
The car raced throughout much of 1964 before being sold to John Pearce in September.
He kept it until December 1967 when it passed to Neil Corner, then to Jack Sears in 1970.
Sears held it until 1999 when it joined the collection of Jon Shirley, former Microsoft president and chief operating officer, where it has remained ever since.
Instead of being completely torn down and rebuilt, the car has been carefully looked after over the years, repaired and refreshed only as needed so that most of its original materials remain intact.
It earned its Ferrari Classiche Red Book in 2008 and maintains many original Coombs-era pieces.
The GTO currently runs a 3.0-litre Colombo V12 engine built by Ferrari Classiche as part of thorough restoration work.
It retains the original five-speed manual transmission, six Weber carburetors, four-wheel disc brakes, and twin Marelli distributors.
The sale includes a spare GTO-spec engine for vintage racing use, plus extra wheels, brakes, and more period racing spares.
Mecum hasn’t provided a sales estimate, but expect $50 million or more. The most expensive 250 GTO sold privately in 2018 for a reported $70 million.
