Watch - evo drives Ferrari 250 SWB at RM Sotheby's
What's it like to drive a €10 million Ferrari from 1960? Jethro Bovingdon finds out, thanks to RM Sotheby's
evo, as Jethro Bovingdon explains to Max Girado from RM Sotheby’s, is more about the driving experience than it is polished cars and upscale locations.
But even seen with a cynical eye, it’s hard not to appreciate the beauty of a lineup of Ferraris stretching from the 1950s through to the modern day.
So, in the run-up to hosting a livestream from the auctioneers’ event at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on May 23, we decided to take a closer look at the appeal behind such vehicles.
As it transpires, many of the priceless cars do indeed get driven, whether on-track at events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival or daily driven.
In the case of the Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta that Jethro has the pleasure of driving in our video, its first owner was a Florentine doctor who used the car every day.
That means the stunning yellow example doesn’t have the racing pedigree of some, but it has since taken part in events at the Goodwood Revival and is eligible for other historic events, too.
With a live rear axle, ladder chassis and four-speed gearbox it seems rudimentary on paper. But its 3-litre V12, developing somewhere between 260-280bhp, is as beautiful to listen to as the Pininfarina coachwork is to view, and its disc brakes were relatively sophisticated for the age.
Is it worth €10 million? That’s more difficult to answer, but the ownership experience would surely be priceless.