This is a list of the most expensive cars sold in auto auctions through the traditional bidding process, that of those that attracted headline grabbing publicity, mainly for the high price their new owners have paid.
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, serial number 3413GT, sold at RM Sotheby’s Auction on August 25, 2018 for US$48,405,000 (including buyer’s premium). This broke the record previously held by another 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, serial number 3851GT, which sold for a then-record $38,115,000 (including buyer’s premium) at Bonham’s Quail Auction on August 14, 2014. While collectible cars have been sold privately for more, this is the highest price ever paid for a car at a public auction.[1]
The 1904 Rolls-Royce 10 hp Two-Seater is currently listed on the Guinness World Records as the most expensive veteran car to be sold, at the price of US$7,254,290 (equivalent to $8,765,000 in 2018), on a Bonhams auction held at Olympia in London on December 3, 2007.[2]
This list only consists of those that have been sold for at least $4 million in auction sales during a traditional bidding process, inclusive of the mandatory buyers premium and does not include private, unsuccessful (failing to reach its reserve price, incomplete) and out of auction sales.
