There is a reason a Ferrari 250 GTO gaveled for $48.4 million at the RM Sotheby’s Auction in Monterey back in 2018. Just 36 of these gems were produced between 1962 and 1964.
That was an era when Ferrari red was sacrosanct. But in 1962, a man named John Coombs ordered one in white.
It’s the only white Ferrari 250 GTO ever built, dubbed the Bianco Speciale.
The car will cross the auction block in January 2026 at Kissimmee, Florida. But as has become a tradition, Mecum Auctions chose Monterey to unveil the machine.
“Car Week in Monterey—there are a lot of events and a lot of people coming in,” observes Sam Murtaugh, chief operating officer for the Wisconsin-based auction house. “It’s a good opportunity.”
In 2019, Mecum put the Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in Bullitt on display during the Monterey Auction. Last year it was another McQueen ride, the Porsche 917 he piloted in Le Mans—a reveal thought impossible to match.
“Dana and Frank [Mecum] never cease to amaze,” Murtaugh says.
Ironically, the 250 GTO now on display on Mecum’s auction grounds was originally ordered by a Jaguar dealer in England. His purpose was to convince Jaguar executives to make improvements to its E-Type—also now a classic, though not nearly as rare—in order to compete on more equal terms with Ferrari.
The car now in Monterey has had normal maintenance work performed in its lifetime, but has never been restored. Once the auction ends in Monterey, it will be stored away until January.