A Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta, one of only 36 built between 1961 and 1964, has just sold at the Bonhams Qual Lodge Auction for 38.1 Million Dollars Thrusday evening, making it the highest price ever for a car sold at auction.

Ferrari GTOs have been considered strong candidates for resetting the record for the most expensive automobile sold at auction. Up until yesterday the record was held by the  Mercedes-Benz W196 racecar that went for 29.7 million.  This was the first GTO at a public offereing for several years.

The 250 GTO was the last front-engine competition coupe to be built by Ferrari. It was succeeded by the midengine 250 LM model in 1965.

Bonhams also handpicked some of the most collectible Ferraris in the world and brought them to the stage. The ten cars included a 1962 250 GT Short-Wheelbase Speciale Aerodinamica that went for $6.875 million, a 1953 250 Mille Miglia Berlinetta driven to racing victory by Phil Hill for $7.26 million and even a 1978 312 T3 Formula One car for $2.31 million. All told, the group of them sold for $65.945 million.

"This is the peak of any Ferrari collection," Brooks said in a telephone interview from London before the auction. "They tend to stay in owners' hands for a long period, and you don't see them coming up for sale that often."

The Ferrari that sold was bought in 1965 by Fabrizio Violati, whose Italian family made its money in agriculture and mineral water bottling and distribution, according to Bonhams. He died in 2010. The former French Olympic ski champion Henri Oreiller was killed while driving it in a race at Montlhéry, France, in 1962.

"The sound that car makes will make your hair stand on edge," Peter Sweeney, a classic car dealer in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, who sells Ferraris, said in a telephone interview. "It's a shriek. It's unlike any other sound you've ever heard before."

The car auctions at Bonhams continue through Aug. 17.