Most Expensive Cars Ever Sold at Auction

This chart ranks the most expensive cars ever sold at public auction, by hammer price in US dollars. The list is dominated by rare mid-20th-century Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari racing and grand-touring machines, whose scarcity, competition his...

About This Dataset

Most Expensive Cars Ever Sold at Auction
This chart ranks the most expensive cars ever sold at public auction, by hammer price in US dollars. The list is dominated by rare mid-20th-century Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari racing and grand-touring machines, whose scarcity, competition history and design have made them the ultimate collector trophies.
✨ AI Insight

The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe stands in a class of its own, selling for around $143 million in 2022 - nearly triple the next-highest price and by far the most expensive car ever sold. Only two of these coupes were ever built, explaining the extraordinary figure. Below it, Ferrari absolutely dominates: the marque takes seven of the top ten places, led by a 1962 Ferrari 330 LM/250 GTO at $51.7 million. The 250 GTO alone appears four separate times, cementing its status as the most coveted collector car of all. A second Mercedes, the 1954 W196R Formula One streamliner ($53.9M), ranks second. The concentration of 1950s-60s racing thoroughbreds shows that provenance and rarity, not modern performance, command the highest prices in the collector-car world.

Source:  Wikipedia (List of most expensive cars sold at auction)

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

🏆
Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut (1955) leads with 143 in All Time.
📊
Average value in All Time: 51  ·  median: 38.
↔️
Gap in All Time: Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut (1955) is 4.8× larger than Mercedes W196 (1954).

Most Expensive Cars Ever Sold at Auction

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Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin
Data Points
10
10 categories  ·  1 year
Top Value
143
Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut (1955)
Auction Sale Price (USD) · All Time
Metrics
1
Auction Sale Price (USD)
Period
All Time
Single year snapshot

Category Rankings

Auction Sale Price (USD) · All Time

# Category All Time
🥇 Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut (1955) 143
🥈 Mercedes W196R Streamliner (1954) 53.90
🥉 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO (1962) 51.70
4 Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $48.4M) 48.40
5 Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $38.5M) 38.50
6 Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $38.1M) 38.10
7 Ferrari 250 LM (1964) 36.30
8 Ferrari 335 S (1957) 35.70
9 Ferrari 412P (1967) 30.30
10 Mercedes W196 (1954) 29.60
Statistical Summary — Auction Sale Price (USD) · All Time
143
Maximum
29.60
Minimum
51
Average
38
Median

What This Data Shows

Auto-generated trend summaries per category

Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut (1955)
Recorded 143 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Mercedes W196R Streamliner (1954)
Recorded 53.90 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO (1962)
Recorded 51.70 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $48.4M)
Recorded 48.40 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $38.5M)
Recorded 38.50 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $38.1M)
Recorded 38.10 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Ferrari 250 LM (1964)
Recorded 36.30 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Ferrari 335 S (1957)
Recorded 35.70 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Ferrari 412P (1967)
Recorded 30.30 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.
Mercedes W196 (1954)
Recorded 29.60 Auction Sale Price (USD) in All Time.

Full Data Table

10 records across 1 year

✓ 10 sourced
Category Metric All Time Source
Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut (1955) Auction Sale Price (USD) 143
Mercedes W196R Streamliner (1954) Auction Sale Price (USD) 53.90
Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO (1962) Auction Sale Price (USD) 51.70
Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $48.4M) Auction Sale Price (USD) 48.40
Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $38.5M) Auction Sale Price (USD) 38.50
Ferrari 250 GTO (1962, $38.1M) Auction Sale Price (USD) 38.10
Ferrari 250 LM (1964) Auction Sale Price (USD) 36.30
Ferrari 335 S (1957) Auction Sale Price (USD) 35.70
Ferrari 412P (1967) Auction Sale Price (USD) 30.30
Mercedes W196 (1954) Auction Sale Price (USD) 29.60

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

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