Hand-crafted classic cars always maintain high demand. A new price record has been set at RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey, California. A buyer reportedly paid $48.4 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. Undoubtedly, it’s a rare and highly desirable car, but that’s certainly a load of money for a set of wheels.

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The previous owner paid $10 million back in 2000, according to reports. That points to a compound gain annual gain of 9% a year over 18 years.

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But once you strip out the fat auction commissions-typically 10% for both buyers and sellers-and other cost of such a rare beast (such as climate-controlled storage, maintenance, and insurance) the profit would be lower.

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Just owning the S&P 500 would have made an investor about the same profit, even buying stocks at the 2000 market top. Although, clearly, a broker statement won’t get the pulse racing (for some) as much as a bright red Ferrari parked in the garage.

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But in any case, this is one of the rarest and most desirable cars in the world. being from the 1960s, it’s both attractive to look at and reminds mega-wealthy collectors of their youth, which pumps up the price. Most of the classic car market isn’t nearly as racy

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People sometimes ask me about investing in collectables (classic cars, stamps, fine wine, art, rare books, etc.). For many, I’d say those things are better as hobbies. but if you know what you’re doing, there are certainly impressive gains to be made. And they’re a lot more fun than traditional investments.