It was raced at Le Mans and Sebring and, despite being more than 50 years old, is capable of 0 to 60mph in around six seconds and a top speed of more than 170mph.

The Ferrari has now come onto the open market for the first time in 20 years. John Collins, who runs Ascot-based Ferrari specialist Talacrest, is selling it for more than £45 million ($56 million).

Mr Collins said: "I've been looking for a 250 GTO for a while and the opportunity came up with this one, which is the second GTO built.

"It is a beautiful Ferrari, the Holy Grail of classic cars, and it has a great racing history having finished sixth overall at Le Mans and first in class at Sebring.