Numerous classic autos went under the hammer at the various auctions coinciding with last week’s 2023 Monterey Car Week in California, but the sale of 1967 Ferrari 412P really stood out.
The numbers-matching Ferrari race car was sold by Bonhams at its auction at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering and the final price paid including the buyer’s premium was $30,255,000.
The price makes it the fourth most expensive Ferrari sold at auction and the most expensive car sold by Bonhams, eclipsing the 2013 sale of Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes-Benz F1 W196 race car, which sold for just over $29 million.
A 412P hadn’t crossed the block in a quarter of century, as the cars, built for endurance racing, are extremely rare. There are just two original examples, including chassis number 0854 that was sold last week in Monterey, and chassis no. 0850. Two further examples, chassis nos. 0844 and 0848, were converted 330 P3 race cars.
1967 Ferrari 412P bearing chassis no. 0854 – Photo credit: Bonhams
Chassis no. 0854 was originally sold as a customer race car to the U.K.’s Maranello Concessionaires. It was driven to third-place finishes at Spa and Le Mans, with Lucien Bianchi and Richard Attwood at the wheel in Belgium, and Attwood joining Piers Courage for the race in France.
Chassis no. 0854 stands out as being the only 412P still with its original body, chassis, engine, and transmission. The engine is a 4.0-liter V-12 with carburetors (instead of fuel injectors, which Ferrari reserved for its factory 330 P3 and P4 cars) and is rated at an estimated 420 hp. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and sits in a chassis with independent suspension including unequal length wishbones and coil springs.
1967 Ferrari 412P bearing chassis no. 0854 – Photo credit: Bonhams
After its racing life was over, the car traded hands multiple times, with one owner treating it to a nine-year restoration.
Many other classic Ferraris were sold in Monterey. Bonhams also sold a 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta that finished seventh in the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans. The price paid was $3.9 million.
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy bearing chassis no. 08157 – Photo credit: Mecum
Mecum sold a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy for $3.4 million, while RM Sotheby’s sold a 1965 275 GTB/6C Alloy for $3.3 million. Both cars feature the long-nose body by Scaglietti that Ferrari introduced in mid-1965 to reduce front lift at high speeds.
It was a bumper week for classic Ferraris, as even a badly damaged 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I by Pininfarina sold for almost $2 million at an RM Sotheby’s sale. Despite essentially being a crumpled husk of a car, someone snapped it up for $1,875,000. It was one of 20 vintage Ferraris sold last week in Monterey that were damaged during 2004’s Hurricane Charley.
