Buyer of $44M 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Files Lawsuit Claiming He’s Owed Key Missing Part
The seller says otherwise, though, and it’s now being evaluated by a High Court judge.
In the complex collector car world, every minute detail is of the utmost importance—of course, that's how it should be since millions of dollars are changing hands. When dealing with a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, specifically the one that sold for $44 million in 2017 to supercar trader Gregor Fisken, this statement is doubly true. Now, the car in question is the centerpiece of a lawsuit that went to trial this week in London with Mr. Fisken claiming he is owed a missing key component—the original five-speed transmission.
The Ferrari, which has since been sold again for an undisclosed sum, was allegedly purchased by Fisken without the original transmission; however, he insists there was an understanding that the part would be delivered to him later on. That apparently never came to be and, as a result, he's attempting to force the swap in High Court.
Britain's The Sunday Times reports that while a deal for the gearbox was discussed between the seller—renowned collector and lawyer Bernard Carl—and Fisken, there were details that went un-ironed. Heaps of fees were said to be proposed for each involved party, with a large point of contention being who would pay the $25,000 "release fee" to the holder of the part. Fisken's stance is that Carl should've retrieved the transmission in good faith; meanwhile, Carl says Fisken should've been responsible for traveling to California and paying the release fee. What's more, Carl believes he is owed $500,000 by Fisken for locating the original part in the first place.
Carl claims that any purchase agreement between him and Fisken has since been nullified now that the car is no longer in the latter's possession.
At present, it's undecided whether Fisken is actually owed the gearbox or if Carl should be on the receiving end of a half-million-dollar payout. The judge is reportedly days away from a decision.
As for the 250 GTO, it wears chassis number 3387GT and was one of just 36 examples ever built. When it sold in October 2017, the Prancing Horse earned the title of most expensive privately traded car in history. Having finished second in its class at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, along with 16 other podium finishes in 27 races, it performed exceptionally on-track. It's a rare blue model that sheds a different light on the work of art (no, really) than the "normal" red paint typically seen on 250 GTOs, as well as many other Ferraris.
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