The fifth most expensive car ever sold in the history of car auctions is a 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB that had been sitting, forgotten and forlorn on a French farm for decades. Part of the incredible Ballion collection that went to auction in France over the last week or two, this car brought the house down with a final sale price of right around $23-million US dollars. The family of “collector” Roger Ballion (and the auction house) made out BIG TIME on the sale and we’re not just talking about the Ferrari. There were multiple cars that sold for millions of dollars and even the stuff that was not high dollar in itself was part of a collection so big that sheer volume made up for it. The entire auction came to a staggering total of over $28.5 million Euros which means that at the current exchange rate you are talking over $32-million US dollars.

There were only 36 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB examples ever made and this one in particular had some celebrity history to go along with its rareness as it was part of the popular French movie made decades ago. Thankfully Ballion had the good sense to put this particular car (along with a Maserati) in an enclosed building because the majority of the other stuff sat under what can only be described as a big car port and rotted. While $32-million bucks is nothing to shake a stick at, the reality is that this auction could have been 3-5x what it was if the cars were in any sort of condition other than the crumbling wrecks that they are. We’re sure that the family isn’t weeping into their stacks of money but we’re just raising a point.

Like every time this happens we are left to wonder. If there were 60 cars gently rotting on a farm in France…how many more collections like this are to be discovered? We’re going to stick with the “a lot” guess that we always do. What will be found in the next one? Only time will tell.

Thanks to Ian Tocher for the tip.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE STORY ON THIS MEGA-SALE OF THE RARE FERRARI 250GT SWB –