The most famous automotive brands – Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin or Bugatti, to name just a few – have been attracting broader audiences year on year and are the object of fiercely competitive auctions.
Here are the 10 most expensive classic cars ever sold at auction. Note: all dollar prices are stated including buyer’s premium.
10. 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider by Scaglietti
In 2013, RM Sotheby's shook the auction world when it achieved $27,500,000 (£18,095,000) for this Ferrari 275 GTB:4/S N.A.R.T. Spider, making it the most expensive car sold at auction at the time.
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This beauty was first bought in North Carolina by Eddie Smith Sr. in 1968 and stayed within the family until the auction in 2013. The desirable N.A.R.T. Spider is part of a series comprising ten editions.
9. 1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti
This vehicle was developed specifically to give a new start to the Ferrari brand, which was defeated by Mercedes-Benz during the Formula 1 World Championships in 1955.
Maserati then entered the game with a brand new car, the fabulous 300S. This was a sign for Ferrari that it was time to get back in the race with a new challenger ready to reclaim the brand’s race-winning performance.
The 290 MM by Scaglietti was created the following year and decades later became the fifth most expensive car ever sold at auction with the record price of $28,050,000 (£18,597,150).
8. 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 Racing Single-Slater
During the prestigious Goodwood ‘Festival of Speed’ in 2013, Bonhams offered this impressive Mercedes Benz W196 from 1954, which sold for $29,650,095 (£19,601,500).
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The ‘Silver Arrow’ is equipped with the innovative bloc 2.5 litres 8 cylinders in line and a chassis numbered 0006/54 and was introduced to competition the day before the Formula 1 German Grand Prix kickoff. Driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, this Mercedes Benz W196 won both the Swiss and German Grand Prix in 1954, which contributed to the extraordinary profile of the Argentinian driver.
7. 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti
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At one of the most exceptional sales of 2015, the Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti became one of the most expensive cars in the world when it was sold by Artcurial Retromobile for $35,711,359 (£24,377,152).
The car was launched in 1957 and driven by legendary racers, such as Stirling Moss, Wolfgang von Tapis and Maurice Trintignant, and was part of Pierre Brandon's collection, founder of the Mas du Clos, who passed away in 2012.
6. 1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti
A victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is undoubtedly a hallmark of a great racing car. If it was also driven by a motorsport icon like Jochen Rindt and still has its original engine under the bonnet, that makes it all the more special for classic car enthusiasts. When the Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti, which had been lovingly preserved at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum for 54 years, was auctioned by RM Sotheby’s in Paris in early February 2024, one collector was willing to pay €34,880,000 ($36.2 million or £28.5 million) for it.
5. 1962-63 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta
Sold for $38,115,000 (£22,843,633) in the summer of 2014 at Bonhams, this Ferrari 250 GTO holds the second place for the most expensive classic car sold at public auction.
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This GTO is a widely admired car, and this specific example was the masterpiece of the ‘Manarello Rosso’ collection, formerly belonging to Fabrizio Violati, who passed away in 2010.
4. 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti
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RM Sotheby’s called this Ferrari “the world’s most important, desirable, and legendary motor car”, and they were correct. The 250 GTO by Scaglietti made history in August 2018 when it was sold for $48,405,000 (£36,884,610). Having received 15 class and overall wins, this car changed racing forever and only 36 of this model were ever produced.
The 250 GTO surpasses the 250 GTO sold by Bonhams by more than $10 million, making it the most expensive car ever sold at auction. The only car known to have been sold for a higher price was the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO number 4153 GT, which was sold to the American businessman David McNail in 2019 privately for an estimated price of $70 million.
3. 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
In November 2023, the most expensive Ferrari, another 1962 250 GTO, sold for $51.7 million (£40.8 million) at RM Sotheby's in New York. This car, with chassis number 3765, was raced by Formula 1's Scuderia Ferrari at the 1962 Nürburgring 1000 KM, the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 1965 Sicilian Hillclimb Championship. This racing treasure had been carefully preserved and spent the past nearly 40 years in a single-owner collection. In August 2011, it was shown in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as part of the GTO class and was awarded 2nd-place among 22 other GTO examples.
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2. 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen
Rarity is a powerful incentive for wealthy classic car collectors to spend vast sums on a single vehicle at auction. The hefty sum of €51.2 million ($53.2 million or £42.2 million) was paid on 1 February 2025 at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. The auction, conducted by RM Sotheby’s, was for one of only four Mercedes-Benz W 196 R streamlined cars from 1954. Like the Ferrari in seventh place on this list, this car also came from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum collection, where it had been donated in 1965. The Mercedes-Benz W 196 R streamliner had previously competed in the 1955 Buenos Aires and Monza Grands Prix, with Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss behind the wheel. This record-breaking price makes it the most expensive Grand Prix racing car ever sold at auction.
1. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR 'Uhlenhaut Coupe'
The current No. 1 on this list probably won't be overtaken any time soon. The Mercedes-Benz Uhlenhaut Coupé from 1955 fetched an incredible €135 million ($143 million or £115 million) at an auction organised by RM Sotheby's at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, which surpassed the previous record by a whopping $90 million. The car is a prototype designed for endurance racing, of which only two examples were built. With a top speed of 290 km/h, the Uhlenhaut-Coupé was the fastest road-legal car of its time.
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This is an updated version of an article originally published on 10 November 2020.
