Weekly Motor Fix: Pebble Beach’s record-breaking 1964 Ferrari 250 LM

18 August, 2015

 

Ferrari’s 250 LM — powered by a mid-mounted, 3.3-litre V12 — was originally developed for GT racing, but was forced to compete as a sports prototype instead. Ferrari reckoned that the 250 LM was simply a ‘development’ of the existing 250-series cars, but motorsport authorities thought differently. Only 32 examples of this iconic sports racer were ever built — one of which was raced in New Zealand by Andy Buchanan during the ’60s.

Back in 1964, you could pick up a brand new 250 LM for around $32,000. But if you want to purchase one today, you’d need to have won Lotto at least a couple of times. It’s safe to say that 250 LMs don’t come up for sale very often, which made it very interesting when this ’64 example was present at the famous August 15–16 Pebble Beach auction.

With a body by Scaglietti, it went on to be the star of the event. As the actual display car from the 1966 Earls Court Motor Show, this 250 LM has never been damaged, despite being regularly campaigned throughout its life. At auction it managed to fetch an eye-watering US$17.6 million, or NZ$25.4 million, at the final fall of the auctioneer’s hammer.

Cheaper options at the same sale included a McLaren F1, which sold for NZ$20 million, while a Ferrari Enzo, originally built as a gift for Pope John Paul II, was a relative bargain — priced at a mere NZ$9.2 million.

Better get onto opening that KiwiSaver account!

Lunch with … Rodger Anderson

At first, I wondered if I’d driven up the wrong driveway. The car in the garage was an early Mustang resplendent in royal blue with two broad gold stripes, which was not what I was expecting. I knew that Rodger Anderson, who made his name in Minis and a BMW 2002, was a Porsche man these days — the other end of the spectrum from American muscle. I had no idea of his affection for Detroit iron. It didn’t take long to discover just how passionate this former Saloon Car Champion is about cars, as long as they’re interesting.

Back from the brink – 1968 MGB GT

Auckland classic car enthusiast Kerry Bowman soon realised he had a massive job on his hands in restoring his classic 1968 MGB GT. When Kerry and his MGB first appeared in New Zealand Classic Car in March 2021, in “Behind The Garage Door”, the stripped-out shell had revealed some nasty surprises. Once the true extent of the hidden damage was discovered, the work would normally have been handed over to a professional fabricator. However, with the assistance of experts such as MG specialist restorer, Paul Walbran, Kerry has completed an impressive restoration and saved this car from the scrapheap.