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- Top 10 highest-value public auction sales range from $9.5m to a massive $51.7m
- We countdown the priciest classics to change hands in 2023 – six are Ferraris
Ferrari may have been pipped to second place in this year’s F1 team championship by arch rivals Mercedes, but when it comes to classics, the Maranello machine is still just about in top spot as it dominates this list of the 10 most expensive motors sold at auction this year.
That’s not to say that 2023 hasn’t been a tricky year for the classic car market.
The pressures of cost of living rises, growing interest rates and general economic uncertainty have taken their toll and car enthusiasts’ priorities have understandably shifted.
Though not necessarily at the very top of the market, where some motors have continued to change hands for astronomical amounts – including six Ferraris.
![Of the 10 most expensive classic cars sold at public auction this year, six were Ferraris... including this one. Read the countdown of the priciest of all in 2023 compiled for This is Money by Hagerty's John Mayhead](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/14/78425385-12809741-image-a-45_1701355423608.jpg)
Of the 10 most expensive classic cars sold at public auction this year, six were Ferraris… including this one. Read the countdown of the priciest of all in 2023 compiled for This is Money by Hagerty’s John Mayhead
Throughout the last few years, the ultra rich have seemingly continued spending, relatively unaffected by the economic turmoil going on around them.
This year though, it seems things have changed somewhat…
Throughout 2022, classic car experts at Hagerty have tracked 290 cars worldwide at public auction that sold for $1million or more (including the world-record beating Mercedes-Benz Uhlenhaut Coupe) and 76 per cent of them sold.
This year, with a few weeks to go, the number has been 262 cars with a 70 per cent sale rate.
Hagerty’s global quotes of cars in this price bracket are also down nearly a third, year-on-year.
It seems even those with money are finally feeling the pinch.
But let’s get this in perspective: the top ten public auction results of 2023 are not exactly cheap cars, ranging from a $9.5million Ferrari 250 GT SWB sold by Gooding & Company at Pebble Beach in August right up to the Ferrari 330LM/ 250GTO sold in November by RM Sotheby’s for $51,705,000 – a new Ferrari auction record and the second-highest public car sale ever.
Here’s the countdown of the most expensive public auction vehicles of the year…
10. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB – $9,465,000 (£7.5M)
Sold by: Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach, 18 August 2023
![This rare250 GT SWB starts things off with a modest sale price in the summer of almost $9.5million](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425853-12809741-image-a-11_1701356685939.jpg)
This rare250 GT SWB starts things off with a modest sale price in the summer of almost $9.5million
Gooding & Company’s only entry in the 2023 top ten auction results is a cracker. The Ferrari 250 GT SWB, like its sibling the 250 GTO, was primarily a racing car but some, like this, were delivered for street use.
This car was described as a ‘wonderfully patinated, unrestored example’ and has never before been offered for public sale. Metallic grey (Grigio Metallizzato) over beige leather is also a superbly elegant colour combination.
Collectors agreed: the car bid to a mid-estimate sale that was £500,000 more that Hagerty’s top value for the model.
9. 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR AMG Roadster – $10,235,000 (£8M)
Sold by: RM Sotheby’s, Las Vegas, 17 November 2023
![Both a CLK GTR Roadster and Coupe were up for grabs at the RM Sotheby's Las Vegas sale in November. The former went for the bigger price](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425865-12809741-image-a-13_1701356759013.jpg)
Both a CLK GTR Roadster and Coupe were up for grabs at the RM Sotheby’s Las Vegas sale in November. The former went for the bigger price
As homologation specials go, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is one of the most extreme, combining a 6.9-litre V12 mated to a paddle-operated six-speed sequential gearbox taken from the GT1 car.
Just 25 were built, including six roadsters. This one was essentially brand new, with just 170km on the clock and complete with a set of fitted luggage for those weekend trips to the country.
Bids fell a little short of expectation but it sold, unlike a 7,000km (4,350 mile)-from-new coupe version in the same sale that missed its reserve, bidding to a still-healthy £5.6million.
8. 2022 Bugatti Chiron Profilée – €9,792,500 (£8.5M)
Sold by: RM Sotheby’s, Paris, 1 February 2023
![The newest car in this top 10 is this year-old Bugatti Chiron, which changed hands early in 2023 for a whopping €9.8million](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425859-12809741-image-a-15_1701356828262.jpg)
The newest car in this top 10 is this year-old Bugatti Chiron, which changed hands early in 2023 for a whopping €9.8million
The most recent car in our list is a one-off version of possibly the most iconic hypercar of recent years.
The Bugatti Chiron Profilée was designed to combine the performance of the Chiron Pur Sport with a more subtle (if that can be used for this car) touring body. The result was this: a one-off prototype of a series that never entered production.
With just 396 kilometres (246 miles) on the clock, the strength of bidding took everyone by surprise and this modern masterpiece sold for nearly three times its low pre-sale estimate.
7. 1972 Ferrari 312PB – €12,042,500 (£10.4M)
Sold by: RM Sotheby’s, Villa Erba, Italy, 20 May 2023
![This former factory Ferrari, which won both the Buenos Aires 1000KM and Nürburgring 1000KM endurance races was purchased in the auction room for a massive €12million](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425863-12809741-image-a-16_1701356878246.jpg)
This former factory Ferrari, which won both the Buenos Aires 1000KM and Nürburgring 1000KM endurance races was purchased in the auction room for a massive €12million
Although the 312PB lacked the beautiful design of its 1960s predecessors, it was an extremely competent racing car and the last Ferrari Works sports prototype to win the World Sportscar Championship in 1972.
This one was a key part in that factory team, winning the Buenos Aires 1000 Kilometres and Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres, and finishing on the podium at both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Monza 1000 Kilometres. It’s reported to be one of the most original 312 PB out there, and has matching numbers on the engine and gearbox.
Although the auctioneers expected more and it was nearly £2million shy of its low estimate, the car sold.
6. 1957 Jaguar XKSS – $13,205,000 (£10.4M)
Sold by: RM Sotheby’s, Monterey USA, 20 August 2023
![One of the very few Jaguar XKSS built in the late fifties, this model isn't the most famous example, yet it still went for over $13.2million](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425861-12809741-image-m-18_1701356978311.jpg)
One of the very few Jaguar XKSS built in the late fifties, this model isn’t the most famous example, yet it still went for over $13.2million
Just sixteen examples of the XKSS were built by Jaguar to fill a very niche demand from their very top clients for a road-going version of the D-Type racer.
Steve McQueen is probably the most famous of these first owners, who received his in 1956. The following year, this one emerged from Jaguar’s Coventry factory and was shipped to northern California.
Despite not being the most famous example, this sold very well, near high estimate and close to the Hagerty Price Guide top value at the time.
5. 1964 Ferrari 250 LM – €15,771,200 (£13.7M)
Sold by: Artcurial, Paris, 6 July 2023
![The 250 LM is extremely rare with just 32 produced by Ferrari in the sixties. This one found a new owner when the hammer dropped in Paris in July for nearly €15.8million](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425855-12809741-image-a-20_1701357042971.jpg)
The 250 LM is extremely rare with just 32 produced by Ferrari in the sixties. This one found a new owner when the hammer dropped in Paris in July for nearly €15.8million
The 250 LM is even rarer than its 250 GTO sibling, with just 32 made. The LM – named for ‘Le Mans’ – won there in 1964, the last Ferrari model to do so until this year.
As a purely racing model, this example was very rare, having a continuous history from new and the same chassis, engine and gearbox as when it came out of the factory.
There’s a reason for that: it was the NART spare team car at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona but went unraced and was soon sold to the first in a series of private owners.
So, as far as 250 LMs go, it maybe lacked a little of the value that an example with true race history would have achieved and sold for a mid-estimate price, although still enough to put it in the top five sales of the year.
4. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider – $18,045,000 (£14.3M)
Sold by: Gooding & Company, The Amelia, USA, 3 March 2023
![The Ferrari 250 GT California Spider remains one of the most in-demand collectible classics of all time. This one changed hands in March for $18million](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425851-12809741-image-a-21_1701357103217.jpg)
The Ferrari 250 GT California Spider remains one of the most in-demand collectible classics of all time. This one changed hands in March for $18million
All Ferrari 250 GT California Spiders are phenomenally collectable, but this one seemed to have everything the top buyers want: covered headlamps, short wheelbase, original drivetrain and body, and a phenomenal colour: Azzurro Metallizzato.
On top of that, it was built for the 1962 New York Auto Show.
The price set an all-time record for Amelia auctions but fell short of the $18.4million paid for the barn-find chassis number 2935GT sold by Artcurial at Rétromobile in 2015, although that one had the added celebrity provenance of having been owned by French actor Alain Delon.
3. 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 W04 – $18,815,000 (£14.9M)
Sold by: RM Sotheby’s in Las Vegas, 25 November 2023
![An ex-Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 car - the one he drove in his debut season with the AMG Petronas team - was the third highest-value motor sold at a 2023 auction for just over $18.8m](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/15/78425857-12809741-image-a-22_1701357212244.jpg)
An ex-Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 car – the one he drove in his debut season with the AMG Petronas team – was the third highest-value motor sold at a 2023 auction for just over $18.8m
The Las Vegas F1 race weekend was the right time for RM Sotheby’s to sell this very special Mercedes, a car that Lewis Hamilton drove in his first year with the team.
Hosted by TV star James Corden, the auction had all the glitz you’d expect, but the price took many by surprise, exceeding the pre-sale top estimate of $12million by a huge margin.
That took the title for modern F1 car sale from Schumacher’s F2003 Ferrari that sold last year for £12.5M.
What made this car particularly valuable was not just the connection with Hamilton, one of the greatest drivers of all time, but also its rarity as the only Mercedes-AMG Petronas car not owned by the team, CEO Toto Wolff or by Hamilton himself.
Plus, it was the last year of the naturally-aspirated 2.4-litre V8 engines, which apparently is in full working order.
2. 1967 Ferrari 412P – $30,255,000 (£23.9M)
Sold by: Bonhams at The Quail, USA, 18 August 2023
![This 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta 'former' race car sold in the summer of 2023 is officially the most expensive to change hands at a Bonhams auction](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/14/77777983-12809741-This_1967_Ferrari_412P_Berlinetta_former_race_car_sold_in_the_su-a-42_1701353084641.jpg)
This 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta ‘former’ race car sold in the summer of 2023 is officially the most expensive to change hands at a Bonhams auction
Another Ferrari racing car took second spot.
This 412 Sports Prototype was run by British team Maranello Concessionaires, took a podium at the 1967 1000km of Spa and won the Nuremberg 200 and Swedish Grand Prix.
Its body, designed by Ferrari’s Edmondo Casoli and created by Carrozzeria Fantuzzi, is stunningly beautiful, and that combined with its racing history made it the highest-selling car of this year’s Monterey auctions.
1. 1962 Ferrari 330LM/ 250GTO – $51,705,000 (£40.8M)
Sold by: RM Sotheby’s in New York, 13 November 2023
![The most expensive Ferrari to ever sell at auction: This spectacular 1962 330 LM/250 GTO - widely considered the rarest example of Ferrari's most celebrated and sought-after classic car - sold for $51.7million. This is the highest price anyone has ever paid for a Ferrari at public sale](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/14/77773311-12809741-The_most_expensive_Ferrari_to_ever_sell_at_auction_This_spectacu-a-43_1701353095323.jpg)
The most expensive Ferrari to ever sell at auction: This spectacular 1962 330 LM/250 GTO – widely considered the rarest example of Ferrari’s most celebrated and sought-after classic car – sold for $51.7million. This is the highest price anyone has ever paid for a Ferrari at public sale
![The '250 GTO' has been incredibly well cared for and dry stored by one owner for the last 38 years. It comes with the traditional GTO contrasting blue racing seats](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/30/14/77773421-12809741-The_250_GTO_has_been_incredibly_well_cared_for_and_dry_stored_by-a-44_1701353099749.jpg)
The ‘250 GTO’ has been incredibly well cared for and dry stored by one owner for the last 38 years. It comes with the traditional GTO contrasting blue racing seats
A rare public sale of one of the 36 examples of the Ferrari 250 GTO took place in on 13 November.
It was an unusual car: first registered as a 330LM by the factory, the 250 GTO’s sibling fitted with a bigger 4-Litre engine than the standard model, it was raced as a Scuderia Ferrari works car at the Nürburgring and Le Mans before being converted by Ferrari to full 250 GTO spec in 1963 for privateer racing.
In more recent years, it has gained concours awards including rosettes at the world-famous Pebble Beach show.
Although it was a record auction sale for a Ferrari, some commentators suggested that the sale price was low for a 250 GTO.
Others have sold in private for prices reported as being much higher, but that doesn’t take into consideration the model’s original purpose as a racing car.
That meant it wasn’t quite as original as some others which, especially if they are early ‘Series 1’ cars, demand a big premium.
> Read our full in-depth report on the sale of the $51.7million Ferrari
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