RANKED: THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE CARS EVER SOLD AT AUCTION

The world of car auctions has seen some of the rarest models in the world go under the hammer, with some fetching sky-high prices as a result.

We have already broken down the 10 most expensive Formula 1 cars ever to be sold privately, but just two make the cut in the wider world of automobile auctions as we take a look at the most valuable cars ever sold.

Ranked: The most expensive cars ever sold at auction

10 – 1956 Ferrari 290 MM – $28m (2015)

A running theme of this list will be the presence of Juan Manuel Fangio in the cockpit, and this Ferrari 290 MM featured the five-time World Champion in the 1956 running of the Mille Miglia.

He finished fourth in the event, with the red-and-blue colour scheme emblazoned with the number 600. Given the car’s rarity, the famous driver – who navigated the Mille Miglia solo – and that it had been held by a renowned collector, chassis 0626 sold for a massive price in 2015.

9 – 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 – $29.6m (2013)

This car held the title of being the most expensive Formula 1 car ever sold for well over a decade, until another came along to beat it in 2025.

Sold at Goodwood in 2013, the first Mercedes W196 ever to be made available for auction gained a £19.6m price tag ($29.6m at the exchange rate at the time), to set a new high bar for Formula 1 cars under the hammer.

Chassis 00006/54 powered Juan Manuel Fangio to victory at the German and European Grands Prix, before adding a win in Switzerland that year on his way to a second World Championship.

8 – 1967 Ferrari 412P – $30.2m (2023)

A competition Ferrari that gained significant pedigree in its time, the 412P was driven by the likes of Piers Courage, Jo Siffert, Richard Attwood and Lucien Bianchi in its heyday.

This specific chassis was used at Le Mans, driven to a podium at the 1000km of Spa and to multiple race victories through 1968, the unique bodywork and original parts being available after an extensive restoration were likely contributing factors behind the significant price tag on this model.

7 – 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti – $35.7m (2016)

Formerly right towards the top of this list, the Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti broke the world record for a racing car when it sold at an Artcurial auction in Paris.

One of the fastest cars in the world in its time, chassis 0674 was even reported to have been subject to a bidding war at one stage between football legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – though this rumour was seemingly debunked when Messi later posted a picture on Instagram holding a toy version of Cars character ‘Lightning McQueen’ with the tongue-in-cheek caption: “My new car”.

Still, the winner of the bid would not have been able to use the car on public roads as it was homologated solely for racing, with famous drivers of the 335S in competition having included Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, Maurice Trintignant and Peter Collins.

6 – 1965 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti – $36.2m (2025)

The second entrant on this list to be sold in February 2025 (the other resides at #2), the 1965 Le Mans-winning Ferrari was sold by RM Sotheby’s in Paris for a huge €34,880,000 – which worked out at approximately $36.2m on the day’s exchange rate.

This was a chassis with enormous endurance pedigree, too – raced under the North American Racing Team moniker at Le Mans by eventual Formula 1 World Champion Jochen Rindt, though he holds a unique place in the sport’s history after he was crowned champion posthumously, following his untimely death at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix.

Alongside team-mates Masten Gregory and Ed Hugus, Rindt earned glory at Le Mans in 1965 in this car, the only privateer Ferrari entry to date to have won this world-famous race outright.

This 250 LM was the only Ferrari built in the Enzo Ferrari era to have competed in six 24-hour races, taking in three Le Mans and three Daytona entries before it took a place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1970, where it resided for 54 years before it went up for auction.

5 – 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta – $38.1m (2014)

The first Ferrari 250 GTO on this list but definitely not the last, chassis 3851GT received upgraded coachwork by Scaglietti and competed in the 5,500km Tour de France Automobile in 1962.

It stayed in the hands of the same owner for 49 years before going up for auction in 2014, with the 250 GTO taking a huge price of $38,115,000 under the hammer.

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4 – 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti – $48.4m (2018)

This particular chassis, number 3413GT, was sold by RM Sotheby’s in 2018.

Emblazoned with the number 23, it was only the third 250 GTO off the production line, and was upgraded by coachwork company Scaglietti in period while accompanied by sporting success in the Targa Florio and Italian GT Championship across multiple seasons.

3 – 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti – $51.7m (2023)

A legendary Ferrari 250 GTO chassis in that it was the only GTO Tipo 1962 to have been raced by Scuderia Ferrari in their sports car efforts.

Brandished with the number 7, it took class victory and second overall at the Nurburgring 1000km, it was used by Lorenzo Bandini and Mike Parkes at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, took in hill climb success and was subsequently owned by a chairman of the Ferrari Club of America, with its sale in 2023 making it one of the most valuable cars ever.

2 – 1954 Mercedes W196R Streamliner – $53.9m (2025)

The most expensive Formula 1 car of all time is also the second-most expensive car ever sold, with the Mercedes W196R Stromlinienwagen, or ‘Streamliner’, having sold for a huge €53,155,000 in February 2025.

It was the first in the Streamliner spec ever to be sold and only the second W196R ever to go up for sale, with chassis 00009/54 having been driven to victory by Juan Manuel Fangio at his home race in Buenos Aires, as well as having been used by Stirling Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.

The car had spent almost 60 years on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum after being handed to the circuit by Mercedes, with a one-off auction having taken place at the brand’s Stuttgart HQ to find a buyer.

1 – 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé – $143m (2022)

The Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé was the road-going version of the all-conquering 300 SLR sports car of the time, which had won five of its six races at the hands of drivers like Fangio and Moss, the only race it did not win being the tragic 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, whereby its cars were withdrawn during the event after the death of Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Only two road-legal Uhlenhaut Coupé models were made, named after its designer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and while one is kept and preserved at Mercedes’ corporate museum, the other was sold in 2022 to a private collector for a world record price of €135million, or $143m.

Its top speed was reported to be 180mph, a huge figure for the time, with its technical specification having been heavily based on the W196R of the same era.

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2025-02-06T15:25:13Z