Automotive aficionados fuck that there arecars , and then there are " car . "
There are the cars we labor to body of work every mean solar day , the cars we use to take our kids to schooling , the cars we pick up groceries with and the ones we use to haul poppycock from The Home Depot . They ’re utilitarian , dependable , hardheaded and in most cases , they ’re relatively boring , too .
But others are the uncommon car that provide more than just transportation . They ’re the ones that border on trilled art . The car that most debate to be miracles of applied science . The ones that proclaim speed andluxury . The single that are best described as madness sit on four rubbertires .
As long as citizenry have been driving , machine like these have existed . Some individual or some party has always been there to push the gasbag , to call for , " How much quicker can we make this ? How much good can it be ? " Every earned run average of self-propelling history has its legends . They have names like Bentley , Bugatti and Ferrari .
Many of them were made in extremely circumscribed act during their time , and of those few , many became lost to history . A rarified fistful ( or fewer ) are still around , show off record book - breaking speed and treatment from a metre long since past .
They can be yours , too – if you ’ve receive the cash . The ordinary somebody would never even consider spending $ 100,000 on a car . So what would make a person spend several million dollars on a railway car ?
You ’re about to incur out . In this article , we ’ll look at the most late lean of the world ’s 10 most expensive classical machine , the history behind them and how much of a financial hit their new owner ' billfold took just to put them in their garage .
10: 1962 Ferrari 250 LM
Car:1962 Ferrari 250 LM
act produced:32
cost at auction:$6.9 million
By the sixties , Ferrari could tell that racing was moving away from front - enginelayouts and towards mid - railway locomotive cars . They tried to capitalise on this with the 250 LM . The 250 engine from the Testa Rossa was mounted in the centre of the car to create a new character of race driver . It was a production rendering of the company ’s 250 P prototype car .
design by Pininfarina , it was built to be a GT racer , but the FIA had other programme . The racing consistence insist Ferrari would never build 100 instance of the 250 LM to allow it to qualify for GT racing . And they were right – only 32 of the cars were ever build . This limited the 250 LM to step on it in the epitome family , not full - louse up GT racing , something that allowed the American - built Shelby to dominate racing [ source : Ultimate Car Page ] .
The cable car was still successful at racing , securing Ferrari ’s last victory at Le Mans to this day . Because so few were ever produced , it is considered highly valuable among collectors . At a 2008 auction , it secured a Leontyne Price shred of $ 6.9 million .
9: 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe
Car:1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe
bit produced:6
damage at auction:$7.25 million
Shelby Cobra . Those two words scarce need an introduction , but the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe has a fascinating chronicle , one born out of America ’s desire to separate into the European - dominate world of GT cannonball along .
Shelby and Ferrari were engage in an epic racing rivalry in the sixties , one that pitted the Texan Shelby’shot - rodtuners against Italy ’s motoring aristocracy . Ferrari was dominating the F.I.A. World Manufacturers Championship GT class , but Shelby desire to knock it off its pedestal .
They built the iconic low - and - white coupe interpretation of the Cobra , which featured a mat Ford 289 cubic - in V8 . And get ahead it did : The Daytona Cobra Coupe became the only American car to beat a Ferrari in world championship racing in Europe .
The fourth of the six coupes was auctioned off in 2009 , and it earned $ 7.25 million on the city block . That still holds the record for the high price paid for an American car at a public auction [ rootage : Mecum ] .
8: 1904 Rolls-Royce 10 HP
Car:1904 Rolls - Royce 10 H.P.
telephone number produced:17
Price at auction:$7.3 million
It ’s concentrated to visualize a time in self-propelled history when some machine engine only produced 10horsepower , but at the dawn of the 20th century , it was enough to get the Book of Job done . Two companies , Rolls and Royce , teamed up to construct 17 of these early automobiles . A humble 1.8 - litre twin - cylinderenginepowered the cars . It follows the other custom of looking like a horse - drawn carriage with a steering wheel – and no piazza for a horse cavalry . It has bighearted , brass headlamps , wooden spoke wheel and a motor horn that looks like a musical cat’s-paw .
The car sold at vendue for $ 7.3 million in 2004 and is the oldest recognise Rolls Royce in existence . Its chassis ( number 20154 ) was updated in the thirties but later restore to its original stipulation in the fifties . It had been squirreled away in a farm construction , perhaps to hide it from a foreign enemy , as was the casing with many pre - World War II vehicles [ reservoir : Supercars.net ] .
While 10 horsepower may not be a pile , it does n’t in any way diminish this Rolls Royce ’s place in history .
7: 1929 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 SSK
Car:1929 Mercedes - Benz 38/250 SSK
identification number produced:30 - 35
Price at auction:$7.4 million
This finical Mercedes - Benz has an interesting story . Shorter and smaller than many of the massively long operation gondola of its day ( some of which made this inclination ) , the SSK stands for Super Sport Kurz – German for short .
It was the last car Ferdinand Porsche project for Mercedes - Benz before he leave the company to build his own machine . It may have been little , but its railway locomotive was mighty – a 7.1 - l supercharged powerplant .
In 1941 , an English man and fecund machine aggregator bring up George Milligen became this car ’s 11th proprietor . Milligen hold on the car until his death at the age of 94 . Amazingly , the car was never restitute and featured nearly all its original parts – only the sump was replaced in 75 years of ownership [ informant : stop number TV ] . Now that ’s admit maintenance of your car !
At a 2004 auction , Milligen ’s Mercedes bring $ 7.4 million . Let ’s hope its Modern owner hold it just as well .
6: 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante
Car:1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante
act produced:11
Price at auction:$7.9 million
Bugatti ’s unbelievable automobiles saw a spate of succeeder in racing , but it made some awful road - going motorcar as well . One of the most sought - after examples is the Type 57SC Atalante , a extremely strange railroad car with a swoop roof and fenders and riveted body panels . few than a dozen were made , and no two were construct exactly likewise .
The SC was the ultimate iteration of the Type 57 line . It had a supercharged 3.3 - liter straight - eight cylinderengineputting out 170horsepower . Also , the SC had an upgrade chassis compared to other character 57s for better manipulation and balance . Some have even described it as the man ’s first supercar [ source : Supercars.net ] .
At the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2008 , one example of the 57SC went for closely to $ 8 million at auction .
5: 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster
Car:1937 Mercedes - Benz 540 K Special Roadster
Number produced:26
Mary Leontyne Price at auction:$8.2 million
Karl Benz invented the gasoline - power automobile , and since then , Mercedes - Benz has always been know as a company at the pinnacle of technology . This has been true throughout its longsighted history , and it has led the company to produce some truly stunning auto .
The 540 K Special Roadster was no elision . The 17 - foot - long ( 5.2 - meter ) , two - prat convertible characteristic classic pre - war styling including swoop fenders , big headlights and atiremounted on the bole . It was massive and it was single – just 26 Special Roadsters were built , intended only for Europe ’s political and fiscal elite group . The 540 K featured a 5.4 - liter heterosexual - eight cylinderenginewith 180horsepower , thanks to its beginning - character supercharger – hence the K , which put up for " Kompressor " [ source : RM Auctions ] .
This car was own by an Englishman who bought it in 1937 , then wield to squirrel it aside during the war . beat back such an ostentatious German cable car probably would n’t have gone over too well with the neighbors , right ? The car go through several proprietor , the last one being Formula 1 top dog Bernie Ecclestone , until it was sell at auction for $ 8.2 million .
4: 1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM
Car:1962 Ferrari 330 TRI / LM
Number produced:1
cost at auction:$9.3 million
The last two letter in this Ferrari ’s name are LM , which stomach for Le Mans , as in The 24 hours of Le Mans . The solar day - foresighted race is the Earth ’s oldest endurance airstream and one of the most unmanageable inmotorsports . It ’s also a race to which Ferrari is no unknown .
The final and ultimate development of the Testa Rossa line , the 330 TRI / LM won the 1962 Le Mans slipstream while being driven by Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien . It features a 4 - liter V-12 with nearly 400horsepower , and it ’s the last front - engineracing railroad car built by Ferrari as well as the last front - engine automobile to win at Le Mans . Many see it to be the greatest and final example of the lucky age of front - railway locomotive racing [ source : RM Auction ] .
Chassis issue 0808 go for $ 9.3 million at a Sotheby ’s auction .
3: 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Kellner
Car:1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Kellner
cost at auction:$9.8 million
During the first half of the 20th Century , a French company name Bugatti made some of the most exclusive , expensive , luxury - laden and immobile automobiles on the planet . Designed by the freakish Italian locomotive engineer Ettore Bugatti , their car featured light bodies , hugeenginesand alien styling . Like a lot of European car companies , however , they were n’t able to survive World War II .
Bugattis were often exercises in automotive insanity , and the 1931 Type 41 Royale Kellner was no exclusion . The car featured a massive 12.7 - liter straight - eight engine , one which remains the largest locomotive ever put in a privately - sold car . The quietus of it was big , too – the wheelbase was more than 15 feet ( 4.6 meters ) in distance , and its price shred was far beyond the buyer of the Great Depression era when it was build [ source : Forbes ] .
Only six were constructed , and this one was hidden behind a delusive wall to save it from the lecture state of war in Europe . In 1987 it was sell at auction for nearly $ 10 million .
Today , the Volkswagen Group has revivify the Bugatti marque and build the record - breaking Veyron , a car able of pep pill of more than 250 miles per hour ( 402.3 kilometers per hour ) . The insanity lives on .
2: 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder
Car:1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder
Number create : About 50
cost at auction:$10.9 million
One of several Ferraris to make it onto this list ( the Italians are honorable at what they do ) , this was the car sport in the movie " Ferris Bueller ’s Day Off " – the one that Ferris and his friend Cameron whole put down after taking a joyride into downtown Chicago .
To call the Spyder gorgeous is an unbelievable understatement . It ’s the classical embodiment of the sports automobile – farsighted strong-armer , two seats and a drop top . The SWB California Spyder was a form on the democratic Ferrari 250 designed for the American market . It feature a 3.0 - liter SOHC V-12 with 280horsepowerand a four - speed manualtransmission[source : Motor Trend ] .
worker James Coburn owned this special Spyder for more than 20 years . At an RM Auction in 2008 , British tv set and tuner conferrer Chris Evans purchase it for $ 10.9 million . It was a criminal record auction sale sale that stood only until the next ( and last ) car on our list break it the following year .
1: 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
Car:1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
turn produced:22
Price at auction:$12.1 million
Most citizenry are credibly more intimate with the 1980s Ferrari Testarossa , conspicuously featured in theTVseries Miami Vice . But there was another " red promontory " ( so named because of the cerise valve pass over on theengine ) that come first , and it was far more rare and exotic . The 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was a GT race car that run in many prominent contest of speed , including The 24 hr of Le Mans .
The ' 57 Testa Rossa had a 3 - liter , 300 - horsepower , V-12 engine with an 8,000 rpm redline – moderately impressive for a car from the 1950s – and a arresting consistency . In 1958 , the Testa Rossas won four of the six races to deliver the goods Ferrari ’s third successive World Sports Car Championship for Constructors . speed legend Phil Hill was behind the wheel of one of them in that championship year . Only 22 were ever build up – so it ’s a uncommon find , indeed . In Ferrari ’s own words : " Not only is the performance breathtaking , but the sentiment over the cowl when driving is simply one of the best in the existence [ source : Gizmag ] . "
This particular car , the fourth one built , has been restored several times and reunited with its original locomotive . When it went to vendue in 2009 , the Testa Rossa fetched a record - shattering $ 12.1 million . Who says we ’re in a recess ?
For more information about expensive , rare and classical cars , succeed the links on the next varlet .
