A Ferrari 250 GTO broke all records by being the most expensive car ever sold in a public arena at a staggering price of $38 million or Rs 230 Crore. The Ferrari 250 GTO sold bears chassis number 3851GT and is number 19 of 29 ever made. Although currently painted in a bright red with white number squares for classic racing purposes, the car was originally painted in a shade of pale grey. Like most Ferraris of the 60s, owners actually used their cars for what they were meant to instead of mollycoddling them. 3851GT was raced, wrecked and rebuilt more than once. In fact, only two months after French race driver and retired Olympic gold-medal skier Henri Oreiller originally purchased it, he slammed the car into the side of a building and died shortly thereafter. Some experts had speculated that the fatal could hurt the value of the car. Others predicted its extreme rarity and a history of one owner (post Oreiller) for nearly a half century would help the car set a new sales record. The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was one of 73 cars bought by an investor group in June for between $150 and $200 million. The investors bought the car from the estate of Fabrizio Violati, the scion of a wealthy Italian family who owned the car for decades. Although classic car experts had expected the car to bring in about $50-60 million at the auction, the $38 million dollar price tag is a world record by nearly a 30% jump over the last record holder. Bidding is said to have started at $11 million and hit $31 million in under a minute with enthusiasm fading at around the $34 million mark. The car finally sold for $34.65 million, but with an added buyers fee of 10%, the final price was $38 million. The Ferrari 250 GTO beats the previous record sale of nearly $30 million, for a Mercedes W196 sold in England last year. The exclusive club of Ferrari 250 GTO owners includes famous individuals like designer Ralph Lauren, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Wal-Mart heir Rob Walton. The Ferrari 250 GTO packs a 3.0-litre V-12 engine under the hood making close to 310PS of peak power.