Ever wondered if a car could sell for $38 million? From one owned by Lewis Hamilton to the most expensive Ferrari ever auctioned, we’re counting down Bonhams’ top 10 priciest cars. Watch till the end, as we also have a surprise segment for you. Trust me, number one will blow your mind.
2007 Koenigsegg CCGT GT1 Competition Coupé
This is the only race car Koenigsegg has ever built, and it never even raced. That alone makes the 2007 Koenigsegg CCGT GT1 Competition Coupé one of the most fascinating cars ever sold at Bonhams. Only one was ever made and it fetched an impressive $4.3 million. It was built for the GT1 class of endurance racing, but just two months after testing began, the racing rules changed. That instantly ended Koenigsegg’s GT1 dreams, even before this beast could hit a real racetrack. The car has never been used in any competition but is still eligible to race in the Masters Endurance Legends Series, but only if the owner wants to.
1912 Simplex (Eleonora Sears)
We also have the most expensive pre-WWI car ever sold. At the Bonhams Scottsdale Auction, a 1912 Simplex 5 Passenger Torpedo Tourer, once owned by the legendary American sportswoman Eleonora Sears, sold for $4.8 million. That is double its original estimate! You won’t believe this, but it was a gift from Harold Vanderbilt to Eleonora Sears. And now, it holds the world record not just for a Simplex, but for any car of that era. Bonhams’ Scottsdale entire US season-opener pulled in a massive $30 million, with 84% of lots sold and 97% sold by value. The auction showcased everything from pre-war classics to 21st-century supercars, proving Bonhams’ reputation for offering the best.
2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+
And now, we have a car that can hit 304 mph… and it’s barely been driven. see, that’s the kind of madness Bonhams attracts. Built to shatter speed limits, it did just that in 2019 when Le Mans legend Andy Wallace pushed its prototype to an unbelievable 304.777 mph. Only 30 were ever made and just eight came to the U.S. The one Bonhams auctioned was Number 9 in that elite lineup. “This is the quintessence of hypercars,” said Bonhams specialist Louis Frankel. Finished in black with electric orange accents, it sold for over $5million with only 255 miles on it, mostly from factory testing.
1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Supercharged ‘Blower’ Single-Seater
This 1929 Bentley, which is nearly 100 years old, sold by Bonhams for $7.8 million in 2017. This beast, which is 4 1⁄2-Litre Supercharged “Blower” Single-Seater, was once owned by none other than racing legend Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin and wealthy motorsport patron Hon. Dorothy Paget. At Brooklands, it clocked an 137 mph, which is victory almost unthinkable at the time. It’s the only production Blower with standard 4 1⁄2-Litre light pattern strut gear. It came from the prestigious George Daniels Collection, adding even more prestige to the sale.
1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato
Only three in the world. Raced at Le Mans. Crashed by Jim Clark. And now, sold for over $13 million. That’s the kind of legend we’re talking about with the 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato “2 VEV. Sold by Bonhams at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, this car became the seventh British car ever to break the $10 million mark, setting a new auction record for any Aston Martin at the time. It raced at Le Mans in 1961, and was driven by none other than Jim Clark, one of motorsport’s greatest names. In 1962, Clark famously collided with a Ferrari 250 GTO while driving this exact car at Goodwood. After a road crash in 1993, it was lovingly restored to its 1962 spec. No wonder the bidding was fierce.
1995 McLaren F1
Described as the “ultimate road car,” this McLaren F1 was the first ever imported to the United States, and it went straight from its original owner to the Bonhams auction block. That alone makes it special. But it gets better. This was chassis number 044, one of just seven US-legal F1s, and the 37th of only 64 road cars ever made by McLaren. It sold at Bonhams’ 2017 for a record-breaking $15,620,000. The car’s original owner was American business magnate Herb Chambers, who picked it up after a visit to McLaren’s Woking facility in 1996. And guess who reportedly won the auction? A man “with a very long history connected to F1” and that’s none other than Lewis Hamilton, whose race number just happens to be 44. With just 9,600 miles on it, and untouched by accidents, Bonhams’ motoring head Jakob Greisen said it was likely the first single-owner McLaren F1 ever offered at auction. All of this helped it set the record for the most valuable post-1970 car ever sold at auction.
1954 Ferrari 375 Plus Spyder
This Ferrari with chassis number 0384 was called the ‘fearsome four-nine’, and for all good reason. At the 2014 Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed auction, it sold for $18.3 million. That single car made up nearly half of the total $38.4 million sales that day. Its power came from a massive 4.9-litre V12 engine, built by legendary engineer Aurelio Lampredi. This engine had already made history as it powered Ferrari to its first ever Formula One victory at Silverstone in 1951. And in 1954, José Froilán González, the same driver who had given Ferrari its first F1 win, raced this exact car to victory at Silverstone once again. But that was just the beginning. This Ferrari also took on the legendary Le Mans and the Mille Miglia in the same year. It was driven by some of the era’s top racers: Jim Kimberly, Troy Ruttman, Howard Hively and Umberto Maglioli. After years of glory, the car was forgotten, until Belgian driver Jacques Swaters stepped in. He rescued it, restored it, and reunited it with its original V12. Thanks to him, this icon returned back to life.
1954 Mercedes-Benz W196
This Formula 1 car sold for nearly 30 million dollars when it was hammered in 2013 and collectors had all the right reasons to fight over it. At the time, it became the most expensive car ever sold at auction, and still holds the title of the most valuable Formula 1 car in history. Why? Because this exact W196, chassis number 00006, was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. He used it to win the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix, clinching his second world title. No other surviving W196 has won two championship races. Even more incredibly, it’s the only one of the ten W196s that isn’t locked away in a museum or owned by Mercedes-Benz. As Bonhams said, “It was a privilege to have been involved with such a very special car.”
1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta
This 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta was predicted to fetch $40 million, but even though it sold for less, the final price still left the world stunned. It became the fourth most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction, and the most expensive car sold by Bonhams in 2023. After all, this is the only surviving 412P that still has its original bodywork, chassis, and engine. Only four were ever made, and this one raced at Le Mans, Spa, Hockenheim, and the Swedish Grand Prix. Legends like Richard Attwood, Piers Courage, and Jo Siffert were behind its wheel. In 1969, the car caught fire during a race, but luckily, the original body was safe because a lighter body had been used for the race. In 2005, it was bought and carefully restored over nine years to its original look. Auctioned at a price tag of $30.25 million, the new owner can now boast of owning the sixth most expensive Ferrari ever sold
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Series 1
And now, for the grand finale , the number one spot. The most expensive car ever sold at Bonhams. Hold your breath as the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO S1 was sold for an unbelievable $38,115,000. Yes, over 38 million dollars for a car that’s been crashed, rebuilt, raced again, and then loved like royalty. Only 39 GTOs were ever made but that’s not the only thing about it that makes this legend unforgettable. Delivered in 1962 to French racing driver Jo Schlesser, it placed second in the Tour de France with co-driver Henri Oreiller. Days later, tragedy struck when Oreiller died crashing the car at Montlhéry. But Ferrari rebuilt it, and it returned to dominate 12 out of 14 hillclimbs in Italy. Eventually, it landed in the hands of Fabrizio Violati, who said he “saved it from the scrapheap.” He kept it for 49 years, racing it into the 2000s before placing it in the Maranello Rosso Museum. In 2014, this legend hit the block at Bonhams’ Quail Lodge Auction and rewrote the record books, as we all know.
We’ve seen the top 10 most expensive cars ever sold at Bonhams, but what about the one that didn’t sell? The 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial was expected to go for over $5 million. But when it hit the auction block in 2019, the highest bid was $4 million, and that wasn’t enough. It didn’t meet the reserve price. Since then, there is no public record indicating that this specific vehicle has been sold at any subsequent auction. Therefore, it remains one of the most notable unsold cars in Bonhams’ auction history.
