Ultra-rare Ferrari sells for $8.3m

The 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider sold for $8.3 million. Photo / Supplied

A 55-year-old Ferrari causes a bidding frenzy at a top auction.

An ultra-rare Ferrari has become one of the world's most valuable cars after it was sold at auction for $8.3 million.

Car fanatics paid more than $54 million at the RM Auctions event this week in Monaco, and 10 cars fetched more than $1.6 million each.

But it was the stunning 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider, dubbed the "prettiest ever made", which stole the show when a bidding frenzy broke out.

The auction house was hoping the car would fetch around $4.9 million but, as with many classic Ferraris, this proved to be a conservative estimate.

One of only two built, the 55-year-old car has been described as "one of the prettiest ever Ferraris" with a "design without fault".

The Spyder was originally fitted with a 2.5-litre engine but had a full restoration in 1982 and now has a 3-litre V12 engine which develops 320bhp.

Two other models - a 1966 Ferrari 206 S Dino Spyder and 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spyder Tuboscocca - sold for $4.1 million each.

Peter Haynes, from RM Auctions, said: "The 1957 Ferrari really ticked all the boxes and because it has been in single ownership for the last 30 years no one has had the chance to buy it. It also is a matching numbers car and that adds to its desirability.

"And it comes from the great era of racing Ferraris. It was bought new by the Ferrari dealer John van Neumann and was raced by Richie Ginther.

"It was restored in the 1980s and the market has demonstrated that if you get the right car its value will only go in one direction."