The Ferrari 250 LM: A Legend Reborn at Rétromobile 2025
‘Ferrari built it as a GT. The FIA disagreed. So Ferrari went racing anyway and won Le Mans.’
A legend returns to the spotlight.
The Ferrari 250 LM—the last Prancing Horse to win Le Mans until 2023—just smashed records at Rétromobile 2025, fetching an eye-watering €34.88 million (£29M).
This 1965 Le Mans-winning machine cemented Ferrari’s dominance in motorsport history, and now it’s rewriting the collector car market.
Want to know how? Let’s take a drive through its legendary past.
A Ferrari Like No Other
In 1963, Ferrari unveiled the 250 LM, a closed-roof evolution of the 250 P. It featured a mid-mounted 3.3-litre V12 producing 320 bhp.
The Ferrari 250 LM was destined for GT racing, but the FIA refused to homologate it, forcing it into the prototype class.
In 1965, Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) entered chassis #5893 which wasn’t even Ferrari’s factory favourite.
But against all odds, Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory piloted it to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It would remain Ferrari’s last outright victory at Le Mans for 58 years.
At Rétromobile 2025, this very Le Mans-winning Ferrari changed hands for €34.88M at RM Sotheby’s in Paris.
Becoming the fourth most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction.
Legacy Unmatched
From an FIA controversy to an underdog Le Mans triumph, the Ferrari 250 LM remains one of the most desirable classics in history—both on the track and in the auction house.
‘A Ferrari that was too fast for GT racing, too rare for mass production, and now too expensive for anyone but billionaires.’
