It is always an occasion when classic Ferraris hit the auction block, but this particular occasion is of much greater significance since the classic Ferraris in question here are amongst the rarest, most expensive models in history. On 14 October 2015  will be auctioning off a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB and 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4.

The cars are part of the Richard Colton collection now belonging to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). That explains why the auction will be held at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire, and why the funds raised will go towards the RNLI’s lifesaving work around the coast of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

In fact it was Richard Colton’s own wish that the money raised from the sale of his cars be used to build a new lifeboat called Richard and Caroline Colton, named after himself and his late wife. It is quite refreshing to see that for once these valuable Ferraris are used for a good cause and not just to enrich already wealthy people.

As for the cars, the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB featuring the Berlinetta chassis is one of the only 167 ever built. It features a 3.0 liter engine and well-sorted suspension and brakes and is in fact a versatile and fairly usable classic. Not that the buyer would want to drive it very often, because it’d be like running around the street while holding a Rembrandt painting under your arm. The 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 chassis 10177 is a proper GT car and one of the front-engined cars from the Enzo-era. It is one of the 350 300bhp models built in that period and even today it is capable of reaching a top speed of 160 mph. Steve McQueen used to have one of these.