Here are the most expensive cars ever sold at auction, including some that aren't Ferraris!

Remember when a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sold for an astonishing $142m at an auction in Stuttgart? That’s approximately 115 million, in good ol' pounds sterling.

Spoiler alert - it ranks as the most expensive car ever to have gone under the hammer (and, indeed, one of the top 10 most expensive things ever sold at auction), in a roster dominated by Ferrari, but also featuring the likes of Aston Martin, McLaren and more.

Excluding private sales, we’ve rounded up the top 29, starting with…

We start with this, the first of… many Ferrari 250s you’ll see on this list, and one which can now probably be considered a bit of a bargain. Built to show off at the 1962 New York International Show, it’s one of only 37 covered headlight SWB California Spiders and the sole example delivered new in that spectacular Azzurro Metallizzato paintjob.

Date sold: 2 March 2023

Auctioneer: Gooding & Company

Image by Mathieu Heurtault, Copyright and Courtesy of Gooding & Company

Told you it would be the first of many Ferrari 250s you saw on this list. One of only nine alloy-bodied LWB California Spiders, it also comes in full competition specification and a rich pedigree, including fifth place overall at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring. Whether you’d be prepared to track your $18m toy is another matter entirely…

Date sold: 20 August 2016

Auctioneer: Gooding & Company

Picture credit: Gooding & Company

Look, it’s not a 250! One of only five examples, this 375 Plus Spider Competizione raced for the Ferrari Works team in the Le Mans 24 Hours and Mille Miglia, later falling into neglect before it was fully restored. It was sold complete to its new owner with a collection of original parts including spare engine. Ideal for a coffee table, perhaps?

Date sold: 27 June 2014

Auctioneer: Bonhams

Picture credit: Bonhams

Ah, that was short lived. This entirely original, never restored, sold as found California (down to the dented bootlid, leather driving gloves and period fuel coupons) was one of just 52 short chassis examples produced, and one of just 37 cars with faired headlights. It had also had the same owner since 1971 up to its sale back in 2015.

Date sold: 6 February 2015

Auctioneer: Artcurial

Picture credit: Artcurial

Driven by Lewis Hamilton at 14 out of the 19 events during the 2013 Formula One season in his debut year for Mercedes, it was also the car he recorded his first victory in for the team in Hungary, alongside podium finishes in Malaysia, China and Belgium. This was also Mercedes’ final F1 car to feature a naturally aspirated V8 engine.

Date sold: 17 November 2023

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby’s

Picture credit: Alex Penfold ©2021 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Fewer than 50 examples of the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B were produced, of which only five (this being the second built) were in the Touring Berlinetta (sports coupe) form. Exported to the UK in 1939, it eventually ended up in Holland where it resided with the same family for over four decades, who took it rallying and even tracked it. We approve.

Date sold: 11 February 2019

Auctioneer: Artcurial

Picture credit: Artcurial

Who’s up for a game of spot the difference? This Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B is one of 12 Touring Spiders (soft-tops) and one of just seven built on the long chassis. While its history suggests it was a bit of a Frankenstein in its early life, it underwent a meticulous restoration in the 90s to restore it to its original condition. Looks the part from where we’re sitting.

Date sold: 20 August 2016

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Darin Schnabel ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

This isn’t any old McLaren F1, it’s one of just two McLaren F1s upgraded by McLaren itself to LM – or Le Mans – spec. That saw the BMW 6.1-litre V12 freed of restrictions to produce 680bhp (compared to the ‘regular’ McLaren F1’s 627bhp) and added a high downforce kit. At the time of sale it had just 13,352 miles on the clock.

Date sold: 15 August 2019

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Andrei Diomidov ©2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

What makes this regular McLaren F1 so pricey then? Well, it’s the only brown – ‘Creighton Brown’ – F1 of the 64 road cars built, features a light tan/brown interior, and comes equipped with custom-fitted luggage matched to the interior, a tool chest and tool roll, and a one-off TAG watch inscribed with the car’s chassis number (029).

Date sold: 14 August 2021

Auctioneer: Gooding & Company

Picture credit: Gooding & Company

Developed specifically to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the last competition car built during the David Brown era, this 1963 Aston DP125 was piloted by Phil Hill and Lucien Bianchi at Le Mans in 1963, where it became the first car to break the 300kph (184.4mph) barrier there. It was later restored with the help of original designer Ted Cutting.

Date sold: 26 August 2018

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Simon Clay ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

This stunning Jaguar D-Type entered and won the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans raced by Ecurie Ecosse and is the only Le Mans-winning Jaguar C or D-Type that has survived intact and remained true to its winning form. With only three private owners to its name, it had been part of the same collection for the past 16 years at the time of auction.

Date sold: 19 August 2016

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture Credit: Patrick Ernzen ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

The most expensive American and pre-war car ever sold at auction is this 1935 Duesenberg SSJ. One of only two short-wheelbase versions ever built, this was also the first time an SSJ had gone under the hammer. Under that long bonnet lies a 400bhp supercharged inline eight-cylinder engine, 80bhp more than the standard SJ. Bet it sounds proper, too.

Date sold: 25 August 2018

Auctioneer: Gooding & Company

Image by Mathieu Heurtault, Copyright and Courtesy of Gooding & Company

Built to contest the 1956 World Sportscar Championship and one of just four to have ever existed, the first race this Ferrari 290 MM ever entered was a casual event called the Mille Miglia, where it finished second overall. Prior to its sale it was fully restored to its 1957 Sebring race spec, the final event it competed in as an official Scuderia Ferrari car.

Date sold: 8 December 2018

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Remi Dargegen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

One of just two factory 410 Sports equipped with a 24-spark plug 4.9-litre V12, Carroll Shelby won more races as a driver in this car than any other in his racing career, with eight wins and 10 podium finishes. It also features the original fuel tank inscribed by Shelby, “Mr. Ferrari told me that this was the best Ferrari he ever built". Worth a pretty penny alone.

Date sold: 20 August 2022

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Patrick Ernzen ©2022 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

No less than the most expensive British car ever sold at auction, this 1956 Aston is also #1 of just five DBR1s built. The only such example to have ever been offered for public sale, it also won the 1959 Nürburgring 1000km race, and was piloted by Roy Salvadori, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, and Carroll Shelby, among others. Nope, never heard of any of them…

Date sold: 19 August 2017

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Tim Scott ©2017 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

One of four 410 Sports originally built to compete in the 1955 Carrera Panamericana, the Le Mans tragedy that year meant it never happened. Instead, this car, the only to exist in two-seat spider configuration, ended up in America, where it raced for the very first time — and finished in the top spot — at Palm Springs in the hands of one Carroll Shelby.

Date sold: 25 August 2014

Auctioneer: Rick Cole Auctions

Picture credit: Rick Cole Auctions

One of two alloy-bodied, full competition specification SWB California Spiders and complete with original chassis, body, engine and gearbox, this 250 sold at the Gooding Christie’s auction during Monterey Car Week in 2025. Can’t see the buyer losing too much money on it should they decide to sell on in the future.

Date sold: 15 August 2025

Auctioneer: Gooding Christie’s

Picture credit: Gooding Christie's

During late 1964 and early 1965, Ferrari built three 275 GTB/C Speciales, each with lightweight aluminium bodywork and 3.2-litre V12 engine, to compete at Le Mans. This was the first, but a disagreement with the FIA meant that it never competed, and was sold straight from the factory to a private buyer. Rarer than rare, either way.

Date sold: 16 August 2014

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby’s

Darin Schnabel ©2014 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

One of only ten 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spiders to have ever existed, this example was originally bought by a chap called Eddie Smith Sr, a Ferrari collector from North Carolina, who kept it and continued using it until his death in 2007. His son, Eddie Smith Jr, decided to sell the car a few years later – and donated all the proceeds to charity. 

Date sold: 17 August 2013

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby’s

Darin Schnabel ©2013 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

We’ve already seen one of the four Ferrari 290 MMs ever built on this list, now here’s another. Also built to compete in the 1956 World Sportscar Championship, it was in this very car that Juan Manuel Fangio finished fourth overall at the 1,000-mile Mille Miglia that year, helping Ferrari secure the championship.

Date sold: 10 December 2015

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby’s

Tim Scott ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

The most successful of all surviving W196s with two Grand Prix wins to its name, driven to victory by one Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1954 German GP and again at the Swiss GP to secure his second drivers’ and that year’s world championship title. It was also piloted by Hans Herrmann and Karl Kling before its retirement.

Date sold: 12 July 2013

Auctioneer: Bonhams

Picture credit: Bonhams

This 1967 Ferrari 412P harnessed every ingredient a (wealthy) collector could wish for: known history, top level period racing including wins at the 1968 Nuremberg 200km, Solituderennen and Swedish Grand Prix, matching number chassis, engine, gearbox and original bodywork, and a recent nine-year restoration. Also: it's an old racing Ferrari.

Date sold: 18 August 2023

Auctioneer: Bonhams

Picture credit: Bonhams

Another day, another expensive Ferrari with much motorsport provenance. This fine looking 355 Sport Scaglietti finished second in the 1957 Mille Miglia, before going one better a year later in the 1958 Cuban Grand Prix. Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Wolfgang von Trips are just some of the bona fide racing legends to have driven it.

Date sold: 5 February 2016

Auctioneer: Artcurial

Picture credit: Artcurial

Winner of the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans for the North American Racing Team (NART), this 1964 Ferrari 250 LM went on to compete in six 24-hour races (three times at Le Mans, three times at the 24 Hours of Daytona). It hung up its racing boots in 1970, before going on display for over 50 years at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Date sold: 5 February 2025

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: RM Sotheby’s

Owned by the same family for almost half a century prior to its sale, this 250 GTO Berlinetta was the 19th example completed and invoiced by the Maranello factory and achieved a second place finish in the 3,418-mile 1962 Tour de France. It later underwent a full factory rebuild and saw action in multiple hill climb events.

Date sold: 14 August 2014

Auctioneer: Bonhams

Picture credit: Bonhams

The third of only 36 GTOs built, this particular example was also one of four upgraded in period by Scaglietti to a Series II body. In its early life it was tested by F1 world champ Phil Hill for the 1962 Targo Florio, winning there twice over the next two years, and played a key part in Ferrari’s victory at the International GT Championship in 1964.

Date sold: 26 August 2018

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Patrick Ernzen ©2018 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

A proper racebred Ferrari. The only GTO Tipo raced by Scuderia Ferrari in fact, achieving a class win and second place overall at the Nürburgring 1000km in 1962, as well as seeing action at the 24 Hours of Le Mans the same year. It also finished second in class at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, among 23 total GTOs. Not a bad CV, is it?

Date sold: 14 Nov 2023

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: Jeremy Cliff ©2023 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

The only W196 streamliner (from four built) ever offered to private ownership, this very car has also been graced by Juan Manuel Fangio, who piloted it to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, as well as Sir Stirling Moss, who recorded the fastest lap at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza the same year, before it became a museum piece for almost 60 years.

Date sold: 1 February 2025

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: RM Sotheby's

Leading the way by some margin, this stunning specimen is one of just two prototypes built and named after its creator and chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut. It’s based on the hugely successful W 196 R Grand Prix car which won two world championships in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio, but with an enlarged 3.0-litre engine and 180mph top speed. Glorious.

Date sold: 5 May 2022

Auctioneer: RM Sotheby's

Picture credit: RM Sotheby’s