“Even after 30 years of looking at it and touching it, I would be astounded at how beautiful it was. Then I’d slip into the corduroy seat, give the Webers a few pumps and Blam!”

This is not a tawdry euphemism, but a direct quote from the previous owner of the astonishingly gorgeous and rare 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider you’re looking at above. So rare, in fact, gentleman vegetables have been known to shrink at the mere mention of its name. It’s just sold at auction in Monaco for €5,040,000. That’s just over four million quid. A lot of money for a car built before the advent of dual-zone climate control, Park Assist or even an iPod ready stereo. What barbarism!

If that price makes you weep like a child, consider the bargain: it’s just one of two 625 TRCs built by the factory and comes with not one, but two engines. It’s fitted with a 320bhp 3.0-litre V12, but the sale included the ‘matching numbers’ original 2.5-litre four-pot racing engine (it previously housed a Chevy V8 too).

It’s only had one owner for the past 30 years, was bought new and raced by John von Neumann and has been “expertly restored”. Also, it’s ruddy gorgeous. The “larger than life” von Neumann, who bought this beauty new back in ‘57, raced it in Austria, California and Mexico, before selling it on in 1981, when it was commissioned for a complete restoration.

This, and quite a few other gems - most of them Ferraris - all crossed the auction block over the weekend at RM Auction’s Monaco sale. Here, for your fantasy clicking, are the big hitters…

Weep, Internet. Weep.