Think of the world’s most expensive cars and your mind might immediately go to modern, high-performance models like the Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti Veyron or the Pagani Zonda.
However, despite attracting multimillion-pound prices, these cars barely command a fraction of the sums achieved by more classic and exclusive models.
For example, the $4.8 million (£3.8m) required for a one-of-29 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita wouldn’t even get you into to the top 100 most expensive cars ever sold.
If you think a lottery win will help, you may still need to recalibrate, because the top classics now change hands for the sort of amounts usually reserved for old masters.
So here are the most expensive cars on the planet based on the price paid when the cars changed hands. We’ve quoted the prices in dollars because most of the cars featured were sold in the US, but the converted figures in pounds sterling are correct at the time of writing and are equally eye-watering.
Now, take a deep breath and hang on to your wallet.
1. The world’s most expensive car: the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé is the most expensive car ever sold, having gone under the hammer for a staggering $135m in 2022 – the equivalent of £114.4m.
Previously owned by Mercedes-Benz, the car was sold by RM Sotheby’s at the Mercedes-Benz Museum to an anonymous buyer. The winning bid was placed on the mystery buyer’s behalf by Simon Kidston, head of historic car specialist Kidston SA.
The £114.4m hammer price is the current world record price for any car, more than doubling the previous record, which at the time was held by the Ferrari 250 GTO in third place on this list. It was so expensive that the SLR’s opening bidding price was higher than the final price of the 250 GTO.
Just two 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupés were made by Mercedes-Benz and they take their name from the firm’s chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut.
The car was designed as a road-going version of the W196 R grand prix car, with an enlarged 3.0-litre straight-eight engine allowing it to hit speeds of up to 180mph.
The car sold was chassis 00008/55 – the second of the two cars built and the one that Uhlenhaut himself used frequently. The sale makes the 300 SLR one of the top 10 most expensive items ever sold at auction.
All proceeds from the sale, Mercedes says, will be used to establish a worldwide ‘Mercedes-Benz Fund’. RM Sotheby’s added that the fund will aim to “provide educational and research scholarships in the areas of environmental science and decarbonisation for young people.”