The ten most expensive cars ever sold at public auction, ranked by the final price including buyer's premium. Every entry is a racing or competition car built between 1954 and 1967 and sold through RM Sotheby's, Bonhams, Artcurial or Mecum. Private treaty deals and unsold lots are excluded, so widely reported private sales — such as the roughly US$70 million said to have changed hands for a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO — do not appear, and neither do quoted prices for modern bespoke hypercars.
Ranking methodology has not been provided.
References: 12. Page edits do not imply that the underlying data is newer.
Not one car on this list was built after 1967. All ten date from 1954 to 1967, and the newest is a 1967 Ferrari 412P. The most expensive cars in the world are not new cars — they are old cars with race records.
The gap between first and second place barely looks like the same ranking: the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé went for €135,000,000 (about US$143 million) in 2022, roughly 2.7 times the runner-up. Only two were ever built; Mercedes-Benz sold one, poured the entire proceeds into a global scholarship fund, and kept the other in its museum.
Ferrari takes six of the ten places, and the 250 GTO alone appears three times — chassis 3413GT, 3729GT and 3851GT. Just 36 were built between 1962 and 1964, and every public appearance lands in the top six. Look at tenth place for perspective: when Fangio's Mercedes W196 fetched US$29.6 million in 2013 it was hailed as the most expensive car ever sold at public auction. Thirteen years later the same money is worth exactly last place.
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Wikipedia, List of most expensive cars sold at auction, retrieved 2026-08-04.
CNN Business, Mercedes just sold the world's most expensive car for $142 million, published 2022-05-19, retrieved 2026-08-04.
| Rank | Car | Model year | Price incl. premium (USD millions) | Auction house | Sale date | Venue | Note | Data checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé | 1955 | 143 | RM Sotheby's | 2022-05-05 | Stuttgart, Germany | Sold for €135,000,000; only two were ever built, and Mercedes-Benz put the entire proceeds into a global scholarship fund. Invitation-only sale | 2026-08-04 |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz W196 R Stromlinienwagen | 1954 | 53.92 | RM Sotheby's | 2025-02-01 | Stuttgart, Germany | Sold for €51,155,000; chassis 00009/54, billed by RM Sotheby's as the most valuable Grand Prix car ever sold | 2026-08-04 |
| 3 | Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO by Scaglietti | 1962 | 51.705 | RM Sotheby's | 2023-11-13 | New York City, United States | Chassis 3765LM; the most expensive Ferrari ever sold at public auction | 2026-08-04 |
| 4 | Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis 3413GT) | 1962 | 48.405 | RM Sotheby's | 2018-08-26 | Monterey, California, United States | Held the public-auction record for almost four years until the 300 SLR sale in 2022 | 2026-08-04 |
| 5 | Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis 3729GT) | 1962 | 38.5 | Mecum | 2026-01-18 | Kissimmee, Florida, United States | The most recent sale on the list and the only Mecum result in the top ten | 2026-08-04 |
| 6 | Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis 3851GT) | 1962 | 38.115 | Bonhams | 2014-08-14 | Carmel, California, United States | Set the public-auction record of its day at the 2014 Quail Lodge sale | 2026-08-04 |
| 7 | Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti | 1964 | 36.345 | RM Sotheby's | 2025-02-05 | Paris, France | Chassis 5893; the last mid-engined racer of the 250 family | 2026-08-04 |
| 8 | Ferrari 335 Sport by Scaglietti | 1957 | 35.731 | Artcurial | 2016-02-15 | Paris, France (Rétromobile sale) | Chassis 0674; a 1950s V12 sports racer and a landmark French auction result | 2026-08-04 |
| 9 | Ferrari 412P Berlinetta | 1967 | 30.255 | Bonhams | 2023-08-18 | Carmel, California, United States | Chassis 0854; the newest car on the list | 2026-08-04 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz W196 R | 1954 | 29.6 | Bonhams | 2013-07-12 | Goodwood, United Kingdom | Chassis 00006/54; the ex-Fangio German and Swiss Grand Prix winner, hammered at £17.5m and £19,601,500 with premium | 2026-08-04 |
RM Sotheby's, Most valuable Grand Prix car ever sold: the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen sells for €51,155,000, published 2025-02-01, retrieved 2026-08-04.
RM Sotheby's, 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO by Scaglietti — lot result, sold 2023-11-13, retrieved 2026-08-04.
RM Sotheby's, 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti — Monterey lot result, sold 2018-08-26, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Bonhams, 1962-63 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta, chassis 3851GT — lot result, sold 2014-08-14, retrieved 2026-08-04.
RM Sotheby's, 1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti — Paris lot result, sold 2025-02-05, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Artcurial, 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti — lot result, sold 2016-02-15, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Bonhams Cars, 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta, chassis 0854 — lot result, sold 2023-08-18, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Business Insider, See the $142 million Mercedes that just became the most expensive car ever sold, published May 2022, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Classic Car Auctions, 2026 Mecum Kissimmee sale top auction results, published 2026-01-18, retrieved 2026-08-04.
BBC News, Fangio's rare F1 Mercedes sells for £17.5m, published 2013-07-12, retrieved 2026-08-04.
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