The 25 most expensive cars sold at auction this year

Big-money beauties that crossed the block in 2019

The global social and political turmoil that filled the news in 2019 didn’t put off some very rich people from spending an awful lot of money on a bunch of old cars.

Classic 1950s and ’60s Ferrari road and race cars dominated the top of the spending charts, but the list also includes Porsches, Astons and Alfas, and some surprisingly modern metal, too.

Several famous classics, including an Aston Martin DB3S, failed to find homes, as did an early Type 64 Porsche, following an embarrassing pricing mix-up.

All of which makes some of the other successful sales even more surprising. If you’ll allow us to borrow from classic clickbait marketing, you won’t believe what’s at number three. No, we’re serious, you really won’t.

Here’s our countdown of the 25 most expensive classics bought at auction in 2019.

25. 1951 Ferrari 340 America Coupé Speciale

Sold for: $3.64m/£2.8m

Where/when: Bonhams, Carmel/August

The 4.1-litre Lampredi V12-powered America proved its mettle by winning the 1951 Mille Miglia, and was available with either open or closed bodywork from Touring or Vignale, or exclusively as a coupé by Ghia.

This one is by Vignale and was delivered new to playboy Johnny Ysmael in 1952.

24. Porsche 550A Spyder

Sold for: $3.75m/€3.38m/£2.88m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Villa Erba/May

Porsche’s mid-engined 550 was a giant-killer on track in the 1950s and this example was campaigned in numerous events in Denmark and East Africa.

Porsche added the A-suffix in 1956 to denote this improved model’s lighter, stiffer spaceframe chassis and uprated brakes and suspension.

23. 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial

Sold for: $4.12m/€3.72m/£3.17m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Villa Erba/May

This stunning little four-cylinder Mondial was raced extensively in Southern California in the mid 1950s by tax-evading motorsport-obsessive Tony Parravano’s Scuderia Parravano, and has had just three long-term owners in the past 60 years.

It’s one of only five Pinin Farina-bodied Spiders with covered headlights and is ready for a Mille Miglia run whenever the new owner is.

22. 2015 Ferrari FXX K

Sold for: $4.28m/£3.29m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Abu Dhabi/November

Ferrari’s XX programme gives millionaires the chance to play racing driver without the potential embarrassment of trailing half a lap behind the rest of the field in a real race.

Following on from the 599GTB-based 599XX and the Enzo-derived FXX, the 1035bhp FXX K was a track-only version of the LaFerrari hybrid hypercar that a handful of owners could experience on some of the world’s greatest circuits backed up by full Ferrari pit crew and telemetry.

21. 1966 Serenissima Spyder

Sold for: $4.67m/€4.22m/£3.61m

Where/when: Artcurial, Paris/February

Scuderia Serenissima team owner Giovanni Volpi was a big Ferrari customer until he fell out with Enzo over the ATS saga in the early 1960s. So Volpi created his own cars, including this gorgeous Fantuzzi-bodied Spyder.

Offered for sale by Volpi himself, it was presented in unrestored condition looking like it must have when it retired from the Le Mans 24 Hours back in 1966.

It didn't even drive at the point of sale, but that didn’t prevent this rare machine changing hands for three-times its pre-sale estimate!

20. 2015 Koenigsegg One:1

Sold for: $4.68m/CHF4.6m/£3.62m

Where/when: Bonhams, Geneva/September

This Swedish supercar gets its name from its astonishing power-to-weight ratio – 1360PS (1341bhp) to 1360kg.

One of only six customer cars, it’s capable of accelerating from 0-249mph (400kmh) in just 20secs, and back to zero again in a further 10.

19. 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France

Sold for: $5.1m/£3.94m

Where/when: Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach/August

The only example delivered to Sweden in period, this 240bhp triple-Weber-equipped TdF raced at Rheims in ’58 and has continued to travel in recent years, notching up awards at Pebble Beach, Amelia Island and Villa d’Este.

18. 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60 Werks

Sold for: $5.1m/£3.92m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey/August

Among the most important of all Porsche cars, this 718 is one of four cars developed by the German marque’s works team.

Le Mans, Sebring, the Targa Florio: you name it, it’s raced it, and with the help of a top-flight team of landmark racers from Stirling Moss to Hans Hermann.

17. 1987 Ferrari F40 LM

Sold for: $5.37m/€4.84m/£4.15m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Paris/February

The racing counterpart to Ferrari’s iconic F40 road car, the LM featured bigger turbos for its now 700bhp 2.9-litre V8, among other tweaks to prepare it for the track.

This particular car is the most famous of the 19 built, having raced at Le Mans twice, finishing a respectable 12th overall in 1995.

16. 1953 Ferrari 250MM Spider Series II

Sold for: $5.4m/£4.15m

Where/when: Gooding & Company, Scottsdale/January

Developed from the special 250 Sport that took first place in the ’52 Mille Miglia, the tiny MM was Ferrari’s first series-built car to wear the 250 name, a reference to the capacity of each of the cylinders in its 3-litre Lampredi V12.

This car was one of 12 Vignale-bodied Spiders and was raced extensively in the US in the 1950s.

15. 2017 Pagani Zonda Riviera

Sold for: $5.5m/£4.23m

Where/when: Silverstone Auctions, Riyadh/November

Argentine Horacio Pagani spent years experimenting with composites at Lamborghini before striking out on his own, and that experience is clearly evident in the carbon panels of this one-off Zonda Rivera.

Based on a Zonda F, it was returned to the factory for a makeover that included new body panels and tuning work to liberate 750bhp from its AMG-built 7.3-litre V12.

14. 1958 Ferrari 250GT Tour de France

Sold for: $5.89m/£4.52m

Where/when: Gooding & Company, Scottsdale/January

The second of two TdFs in our list, this example was delivered new to Venezuela wearing a white over black colour scheme.

Its first owner drove it to second place in the 469-mile Grand Prix of Venezuela, finishing just 10 minutes behind Jean Behra in another TdF.

13. 1975 Ferrari 312T

Sold for: $6m/£4.6m

Where/when: Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach/August

Niki Lauda blitzed the F1 competition in his second year with Ferrari thanks to a perfect combination of his driving skill and the Scuderia’s incredible new 312T.

This car is one of two chassis used by Lauda that season, and was driven by the late icon to first place in the 1975 French Grand Prix. It’s also the first 312T ever to be offered at auction.

12. 1965 Aston Martin DB5 James Bond car

Sold for: $6.39m/£4.9m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey/August

This stunning DB5 is one of four built with the Goldfinger gadgets, and one of two used by Eon productions to promote that film’s follow up, Thunderball.

The entire car, including its Ken Adams-designed Bond features, was returned to as-new condition during a four-year no-expense-spared restoration.

11. 2002 Ferrari F2002

Sold for: $6.64m/£5.1m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Abu Dhabi/November

Though looking similar to its F2001 predecessor (let’s face it, they all look the same), Ferrari’s F2002 was lighter, faster and featured a lower centre of gravity.

This very car took the chequered flag at San Marino, Austria and France during the 2001 season, helping Michael Schumacher secure his fifth F1 World Championship.

10. 1958 Ferrari 250GT Cabriolet Series I

Sold for: $6.8m/£5.22m

Where/when: Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach/August

This 250 is finished in a very classy combination of black with a green interior, but what caught collectors’ eyes are those huge vents behind the front wheels; only five of the 40 got the big gills.

9. 2017 Pagani Zonda Aether

Sold for: $6.81m/£5.23m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Abu Dhabi/November

Another entry for Pagani, this time based on the Zonda roadster and named Aether after the pure air above clouds.

Like the Zonda Riviera (number 15 in this list), this example is one of Pagani’s 760-series cars, a handful of one-off Zondas created for extremely wealthy customers.

This one features acres of exposed carbon bodywork and mates a six-speed manual gearbox to its 750bhp AMG V12.

8. 1963 Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta

Sold for: $7.60m/£5.83m

Where/when: Gooding & Company, Scottsdale/January

The SWB is the fourth-from-last to be built and has jetted all over the world since being first delivered to Luigi Chinetti Motors of Connecticut back in 1963.

One of 96 Lusso, or street-spec cars, its list of previous owners includes many well known Ferrari collectors – and Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage.

7. 1965 Ford GT40 roadster

Sold for: $7.65m/£5.87m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey/August

The first of five roadsters built, this jaw-dropping small-block GT40 was created as a test and development car for Shelby American and driven by Ken Miles, Carroll Shelby and Jim Clark.

It was also used for testing by Kar Kraft in a programme that resulted in 1967’s Le Mans-winning MKIV GT40.

6. 1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta

Sold for: $8.15m/£6.25m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey/August

Finished in Grigio Argenta with a stunning red leather interior, this gorgeous steel-bodied SWB is claimed to be one of the best examples of the 195 built between 1959 and 1962, and changed hands for $500k more than the other SWB in our countdown.

5. 2014 Lamborghini Veneno roadster

Sold for: $8.43m/CHF8.28m/£6.5m

Where/when: Bonhams, Geneva/September

Lamborghini’s 50th birthday present to itself, the 2013 Veneno was based on the production Aventador roadster but covered in a radical new set of carbonfibre clothes, and powered by a V12 massaged to produce 740bhp.

Three coupés and nine roadsters were built including this one, which the original owner unfortunately saw fit to order in hearing-aid beige. Still, that didn't stop someone shelling out $8.4m to put it in his garage.

4. 1958 Ferrari 250GT LWB California

Sold for: $9.91m/£7.6m

Where/when: Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach/August

The most expensive Ferrari to change hands at auction in 2019, and it’s not hard to see why.

Any California Spider will get an auction crowd frothing, but the covered headlights on this LWB Spider make it one of the more desirable. Raced when new, it’s now in show-quality condition after a full restoration.

3. 1984 Peterbilt 359 Ultra Custom TT Crew Cab

Sold for: $13.2m/£10.25m

Where/when: Worldwide Auctioneers, Riyadh/November

No, we don’t get it either. Clearly, a huge amount of work has gone into creating this monster, which features two V12 diesel engines, 12 superchargers, and develops an absurd 3974bhp.

But this thing cost as much as the Bond DB5 and Niki Lauda’s 312T put together. Crazy, in every sense.

2. 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900

Sold for: $18.56m/€16.75m/£14.35m

Where/when: Artcurial, Paris/February

We can all think of cars we should have hung on to, but whoever sold this Alfa back in 1976 for the equivalent of just €11,000 probably needed a decent drink when the hammer went down in Paris.

These straight-eight 8Cs were the fastest road cars in the world before the outbreak of WW2 and this is one of just five to get bodywork from Touring of Milan.

1. 1994 McLaren F1 LM

Sold for: $19.81m/£15.19m

Where/when: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey/August

And here it is, the most expensive car sold at auction in 2019, and by some margin. Not a vintage Ferrari, and not another custom truck, thankfully, but a relatively modern – though no less important – McLaren F1 LM.

One of two McLarens upgraded to LM trim following the end of F1 production, this 1994 car returned to the factory in 2000 to receive a 680bhp V12, aggressive aero kit and GT-spec wheels.

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