Imagine watching someone casually spend $10 million… and still lose the bid. That’s what happens at Gooding & Company, where billionaires come to flex, and sometimes, to fight. And today, you’re about to witness the top most expensive cars ever sold at Gooding & Company.
Warning: watching this might just make your car look like a toy.
1937 TALBOT-LAGO T150-C-SS TEARDROP COUPÉ
One car. One bidder. And the crown for the most expensive French car ever sold at auction. At the Gooding & Company auction in Amelia Island, this 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop Coupé sold for $13.42 million. Only ten of these Teardrop Coupés were ever built on the T150-C-SS chassis, but this chassis number 90107 is even rarer. It’s one of just two built in the Modéle New York style with fully enclosed, skirted front fenders and an all-aluminum body. What’s even better is that it is the one that survives with its original body intact. Back in 1938, won the Prix d’Excellence at Paris’ elite Concours d’Elegance Fémina. Over the years, it passed through the hands of elite collectors before disappearing into a California garage for 40 years. But it came back. Restored and reborn, it took First in Class at Pebble Beach in 2005 and Best of Show at Amelia Island in 2007. This masterpiece is 80 years old. Let’s hope it never disappears again.
1938 ALFA ROMEO 8C 2900B LUNGO SPIDER
Famously stolen Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Spider featured at the auction, and you don’t even want to know how much it fetched. It is one of only five genuine long chassis Touring Spiders ever made. And it was the center of one of the wildest automotive heists in recent memory. In 2022, thieves stole it from a hotel parking lot while it was being transported for restoration. David Gooding, President of Gooding & Company, recalled, “I’d love to have seen the look on the thieves’ faces when they opened the trailer.” This isn’t some anonymous street car but an irreplaceable pre-war Italian masterpiece. The world of collectors held its breath, fearing it might be chopped or dumped in a lake. But in late 2023, the FBI recovered it. Now fully restored, it came back into the spotlight at Monterey Car Week in 2024. When the hammer dropped at Gooding & Company’s auction, it sold for an insane $14.03 million.
1970 PORSCHE 917K COUPÉ
Le Mans Hero Porsche 917K Once Owned by Steve McQueen Is Also in Our List Today. Originally built in 1969, this car was damaged and scrapped in early 1970. But it didn’t end there. Porsche brought it back just in time to use it as a training car for Le Mans. Driven by racing legends Mike Hailwood and Brian Redman, it made headlines when Redman clocked the fastest time. Things got even better when Porsche sold it to Swiss racing icon Jo Siffert, who then gave it to Steve McQueen’s movie team. It became a star in the 1971 film Le Mans. That same year, after Siffert’s death, it disappeared, only to be found decades later in a dusty Paris warehouse, still in its famous blue-and-orange Gulf colors. Fully restored and in near-original condition, this Porsche sold for a massive $14,080,000. As David Gooding put it, “This 917K had a sheltered life. Its history is clear, concise, and easy to document.”
1957 FERRARI 250TR SPYDER
This is the very first Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa ever built. Chassis 0666 started life on a 290MM base and made its racing debut at the 1957 Nürburgring 1000km. It finished tenth with driver Masten Gregory. Later that year, it was rebodied by Scaglietti in the now-famous pontoon-fender style. This car raced hard. It earned podium finishes at the Buenos Aires and Caracas 1000km events. It also entered the Le Mans 24 Hours twice and ran the Sebring 12 Hours once. While it didn’t finish in those three races, its sister cars went on to win Le Mans in 1958, 1960, and 1961. any guesses how much this piece of Ferrari racing history got sold for? Well, that’s $16.39 million.
1962 FERRARI 250GT BERLINETTA SPECIALE
Another noteworthy Ferrari, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale, sold for an insane $16.5 million. Designed by the iconic Giorgetto Giugiaro when he was just 21, this beauty was inspired by Ferrari’s famous “shark-nose” race cars that ruled the tracks in the early ’60s. Only one of its kind, this car was built on a 250 GT chassis bought directly from Ferrari by Nuccio Bertone, the founder of Carrozzeria Bertone. Frustrated that Ferrari kept choosing his rival Pininfarina, Bertone built this masterpiece to show the world what his design house could do. And he didn’t just design it but owned one too. It’s been featured at top auto shows like Geneva and Torino, had a cameo in the film Marlowe starring James Garner, and even belonged to top collector Lorenzo Zambrano. After being restored twice, it went on to win “Best of Show” at major events like the Louis Vuitton Conco
1961 FERRARI 250GT CALIFORNIA SWB SPYDER (CLOSED HEADLIGHT)
This Ferrari was hidden from the public for decades, and when it finally appeared in 2016, it sold for $17.16 million and that’s one of the highest prices ever paid for a Ferrari with closed headlights. What made it even more special was its originality. It had never been fully restored and rather, just carefully maintained in working condition. This beauty had only three owners in Italy since new. One of them was Gianfranco Frattini, a famous industrial designer from the 1960s. After him, the car went to Terzo Dalia, an Italian artisan who showed it off at events like Ferrari Days. The final owner held on to it from 1985 until 2016. Originally painted in Rosso Cina, the car even made a brief appearance in the 1963 Oscar-winning film Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
1962 FERRARI 250GT SWB CALIFORINA SPYDER (COVERED HEADLIGHTS)
The 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder is the only one ever made in this striking Azzurro Metallizzato blue, and while many expected it to hit $20 million, it sold for $18,045,000 at Gooding & Company’s 2023 Amelia Island auction. Even then, it was a showstopper. This car alone made up nearly a quarter of the total $72.67 million sales at the event. Known by its chassis number 3099GT, it is one of just 37 California Spyders ever built with covered headlights, and it was originally created for the 1962 New York International Auto Show. After its early years in Hollywood, the Ferrari was badly damaged in 1971 after crashing into a kerb. That didn’t stop collectors Charles Betz and Fred Peters. They bought the broken car in 1972 for just $2400 and restored it completely by the early 2000s. By the time it went to auction, it had full Ferrari Classiche certification and had won several top awards at concours events.
1959 FERRARI 250GT CALIFORNIA LWB ALLOY SPYDER, $18,150,000,
This Ferrari made history at MONTEREY 2016 by selling for a jaw-dropping $18.15 million, and is the most expensive LWB California Spyder ever sold. What makes it so special? First, this is 42 of just 50 ever made. Secondly, it was originally purchased by George Reed through Chinetti Motors who drove it hard by competing in elite races like the Sebring 12 Hours, Nassau Trophy, Grosvenor’s Trophy, and Road America. At Sebring in 1960, it got third in class and fifth overall In 1984, collector Brian Brunkhorst restored it in a stunning dark blue with tan leather, earning a first-in-class award at the Ferrari Club of America. Later, under Todd Morici’s ownership, it received Ferrari Classiche certification and a finish in its iconic Sebring Silver. Lightly restored again in 2010, it continued winning hearts and awards, before reaching its final moment of glory at auction.
1995 MCLAREN F1
This 1995 McLaren F1, also known as Chassis 029, was part of a private Japanese collection, rarely seen in public. And now, with just 241 miles on the clock, it made headlines by selling for $20.47 million at Gooding & Company’s 2021 Pebble Beach auction. Yes, over twenty million dollars, for what many consider the world’s first true hypercar. Bidding began near $15 million, but the excitement skyrocketed. This sale not only set a record as the most expensive McLaren F1 ever sold, but also became the highest-priced car at auction that year. One of only 64 road versions ever built, Chassis 029 is the only example finished in Creighton Brown with a luxurious Light Tan and Brazilian Brown leather interior. And let me tell you that it came with everything: original toolkits, custom luggage, a TAG Heuer watch, and even the iconic Driving Ambition book. It’s literally a true one-of-one masterpiece.
1935 DUESENBERG MODEL SSJ LAGRANDE CONVERTIBLE
Now we’re not only talking about the most expensive car on our list today, but also the most expensive pre-war car and the most expensive American car ever sold at auction that year. The 1935 Duesenberg Model SSJ LaGrande Convertible went for an unbelievable $22 million at the 2018 Pebble Beach Auction by Gooding and Company. Only two SSJs were ever built, one for Gary Cooper and one for Clark Gable. The one that sold belonged to Cooper himself. He kept it through the late 1930s, driving what was easily one of the most powerful road cars of its time. The SSJ stands for “Short-wheelbase” and “Supercharged.” And its supercharged 7.0-litre straight-eight engine pumped out 400 horsepower. After Cooper, it had just two collectors: Briggs Cunningham and Miles Collier, who bought it as part of a private collection in 1986. It hadn’t been seen at a public auction in nearly 70 years. In 2018, it didn’t just return, it reminded the world what greatness looks like on four wheels.
