With the 2012 Arizona Auction Week and Paris sales behind us, we thought it was a good time to update the ranking of the Top 10 prices paid for cars sold at auction.
While there were no new entries from the Arizona or Paris auctions, there were three new cars since our last update, the new world-record 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype that sold for $16,390,000, the 1931 Duesenberg Model J Whittell Coupe that brought $10,340,000 and the $9,680,000 paid for the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster.
The Duesenberg result was also significant in that it became the record for an American car sold at auction, eclipsing the 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe that Mecum Auctions sold for $7,685,000 in 2009.
Top 10 Prices Paid for Cars Sold at Auction (Prices inclusive of buyer premiums; new entries in bold).
1. 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype, Gooding Pebble Beach, August 2011, $16,390,000
2. 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, RM Auctions Ferrari, May 2009, $12,402,500
3. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder, RM Auctions Ferrari, May 2008, $10,894,000
4. 1931 Duesenberg Model J Whittell Coupe, Gooding Pebble Beach, August 2011, $10,340,000
5. 1931 Bugatti Royale Type 41, Christie’s London, November 1987, $9,800,000
6. 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, RM Auctions Monterey, August 2011, $9,680,000
7. 1962 Ferrari 330 TR/LM, RM Auctions Ferrari, May 2007, $9,281,250
8. 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, RM Auctions London, October 2007, $8,252,201
9. 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe, Gooding Pebble Beach, August 2008, $7,920,000
10. 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe, Mecum Auctions Monterey, August 2009, $7,685,000
Dropping out of the Top Ten are the 1929 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 SSK Bonhams sold for $7.44 million in September 2004, the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Competition California Spyder Gooding sold for $7.26 million in August 2010 and the 1904 Rolls-Royce 10hp Bonhams sold for $7.25 million in December 2007.
[Source: photo credit: Gooding]
Great list! I’d love to see another list of the top private sales as well as an estimate of how many cars are worth over, say, $5,000,000.