Top 10 most expensive cars sold at auction
This May, a rare 1960 Ferrari 250 SWB is set to go under the hammer at a Sotheby auction. Presumably, its price will be more than 8 million pounds. Do you think this is the highest price for a car? But no ... Let's take a look together at the top ten most expensive cars sold at auctions of all time. The cars on the list are in ascending order, so the most expensive one is for dessert.
(Total 11 photos)
1. The same 1960 Ferrari 250 SWB. (Philip Hollis)
2. Ferrari 340/375 MM Berlinetta "Competizione" 1953 release.
Price: $12.8 million (£8.5 million today).
In 10th place is a car driven by three world champions: Mike Hawthorne, Alberto Ascari and Nino Farina. It was one of three cars entered by the Ferrari factory at Le Mans in 1953. (RM Auctions)
3. Ferrari 250 LM 1964 release.
Price: $14.3 million (£9.4 million today).
The 250 LM was the last Ferrari to win Le Mans, taking first place in the 1965 race. (RM Auctions)
4. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider.
Price: $15.2 million (£10 million today).
Ferrari made just 56 copies of this 250 GT SWB California Spider, and the car sold at Pebble Beach last August was from an even smaller line of convertible hardtops. (RM Auctions)
5. Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa 1957 release.
Price: $16.4 million (£10.8 million today).
Variants of the Testa Rossa won Le Mans in 1958, 1960 and 1961, but their prototype was a car that Gooding & Company sold in 2011 for a then-record price. (RM Auctions)
6. 1954 Ferrari 375-Plus Spider Competizione.
Price: $18.4 million (£12.1 million today).
At last year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, a 1954 Ferrari 375-Plus went under the hammer for £10.7 million. The first of only five replicas of this 4.9-litre, 12-valve racing car, it was the one that helped Ferrari win the 1954 World Sports Car Championship. (RM Auctions)
7. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider.
Price: $18.5 million (£12.2 million today).
One of 59 rare classics that were sold at auction after they were found in a barn last year. This California Spider was once owned by French actor Alain Delon, who was photographed in it with Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine. (artcurial)
8. 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale
Price: $26.4 million (£17.4 million today).
Ferrari made only three of these cars, each with a lightweight aluminum frame and a 3.2L 12V engine producing 316 horsepower. (RM Auctions)
9. Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spider 1967
Price: $27.5 million (£18.2 million today).
Only 10 convertibles were built on direct request from North American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti. The car, which sold for $27.5 million, managed to light up in the film "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Steve McQueen in the title role. (RM Auctions)
10. Mercedes W196 1954 release.
Price: $29.6 million ($19.5 million today).
The only car in this top ten that does not belong to Ferrari is the Mercedes W196. Piloted by five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, she won numerous Grand Prix and went under the hammer for a record price during the 2013 Festival of Speed. (RM Auctions)
11. Ferrari 250 GTO 1962 release.
Price: $38.1 million (£25.1 million today).
The 250 GTO was built for racing. But when the rules called for 100 copies to be made, Ferrari somehow managed to make just 39. This rarity, combined with the beauty of the GTO and its lap success, made this Ferrari truly the most expensive and valuable car ever sold. on the auction. (Max Earey)