With just 36 built, each with a unique and glamorous history, the Ferrari 250 GTO has long been the Mount Everest of collector cars. But you don’t have to look through a logbook or old magazines to find out makes chassis 3729 GT unique. It’s the only 250 GTO to leave the factory in white, which should draw a lot of eyeballs when it crosses the block at Mecum Auctions’ Kissimmee, Florida, sale January 17.
Dubbed “Bianco Speciale” (“white special” in Italian), 3729 GT was ordered by British racing team boss John Coombs in 1962. Coombs was a Jaguar loyalist, and hoped the GTO would convince the management of that automaker to make its E-Type more competitive, according to Mecum. It’s unclear why he specified white paint, but the request likely caused some grumbling in Maranello—red being the mandatory color for competition cars at the time. Coombs’ status and the influence of Alfredo Reali, who shepherded special requests through the production process, ensured the car left the factory in its unique color.
Bianco Speciale made its racing debut on August 6, 1962, in the Peco Trophy at England’s Brands Hatch circuit. Roy Salvadori drove it to second overall. Graham Hill matched that result a couple of weeks later in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. Coombs then loaned the Ferrari to Jaguar’s engineering department for study. Lessons learned reportedly influenced the Lightweight E-Type racer.
The white GTO returned to the track in 1963, taking a GT-class win (and fifth overall) in the Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch in the hands of Jack Sears. He later called this a test drive, as he would go on to purchase Bianco Speciale in 1970. Sears sold the GTO to former Microsoft president John Shirley in 1999. A “refresh” was conducted at that time, but Mecum claims the car has never been fully restored and remains in mostly original condition. Its authenticity is confirmed by a Ferrari Classiche Red Book issued in 2008.
With the GTO, Ferrari created the modern homologation special. Those initials famously stand for “gran turismo omologato” or “grand touring homologation” in Italian, signifying the streamlined aluminum bodywork and other race-ready modifications Ferrari wrapped around the chassis and 3.0-liter Colombo V12 engine of its 250 GT models. The GTO’s gorgeous design and racing pedigree epitomize Ferrari at its peak, which is why people pay tens of millions for them when they come up for sale.