A 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider has sold for $35.7m.
It headlined the February 5 auction held by Artcurial at the Salon Retromobile exposition in Paris.
 The Ferrari 335 Spider is the second most valuable car ever sold at auction |
The lot came close to beating the world record for a car at auction, set at $38.1m for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at Bonhams in 2014.
It's now the second most valuable car to sell at auction and has set a new world record for a car in euros.
The ex-works car was competed in several important international races during the late 1950s, including the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours (where it finished sixth) and the 1957 Venezuela Grand Prix (where it finished second).
In 1958 it was sold to a private collector, who continued to race it. In 1960 it was retired and passed into the collection of a US buyer.
It returned to Europe in 1970 to form an integral part of the prestigious Bardinon collection, home to a vast number of Ferraris, and has been very well kept in the intervening years.
Matthieu Lamoure, managing director of Artcurial Motorcars, commented: "Both a Work of Art and the Queen of Speed, this represents the elixir of the exceptional: beauty, rarity, racing success, history, authenticity and provenance!"
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