2018 - Top five sales
30 January, 2019
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO - $48,405,000 (£37.68M/€42.57M)
RM Sotheby’s, Monterey, USA - 25 August, 2018
The Monterey auctions once again provided the year’s most valuable sale, with RM Sotheby’s 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO changing hands for $48,405,000, setting a new world record for the most expensive car ever sold at auction.
With only 36 250 GTOs built they are rarely offered for sale and have long been regarded as the Holy Grail among classic car collectors. Chassis 3413GT was upgraded by Scaglietti in 1964 to the later Series II coachwork, and its well documented competition career included class wins at the Targa Florio in 1963 and ’64, plus outright honours for David Piper in the 1965 Redex Trophy race at Brands Hatch.
[ Ferrari 250 GTO results here ]
1956 Ferrari 290 MM - $22,005,000 (£17.28M/€19.32M)
RM Sotheby’s, Los Angeles, USA - 8 December, 2018
RM Sotheby’s sale at The Petersen Automotive Museum saw its ex-Works 1956 Ferrari 290 MM fetch $22,005,000. The car emerged from a nut-and-bolt restoration by Ferrari Classiche in 2015 and was driven by many of the greats in period including Juan Manuel Fangio, Eugenio Castellotti and Phil Hill, notably finishing second in the 1956 Mille Miglia with Peter Collins at the helm.
[ Ferrari 290 MM results here ]
1935 Duesenberg Model SSJ - $22,000,000 (£17.12M/€18.90M)
Gooding and Company, Monterey, USA - 24 August, 2018
Another world auction record was set in 2018 when Gooding and Company’s 1935 Duesenberg Model SSJ achieved $22,000,000 at Monterey, establishing a new level for a pre-war car.
Only two SSJs were ever built, both featured a supercharged straight eight engine which produced a mighty 400 hp, making them the most powerful pre-war production cars at the time. This car, J-563, was first owned by Hollywood legend Gary Cooper and for the last 32 years had formed part of the renowned Miles Collier Collection.
[ Duesenberg Model SSJ results here ]
1963 Aston Martin DP215 - $21,455,000 (£16.70M/€18.44M)
RM Sotheby’s, Monterey, USA - 24 August, 2018
A one-off 1963 Aston Martin DP215 also crossed the block at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale, bringing $21,455,000. The Works Design Project was the final competition Aston Martin built, prior to the racing department’s closure at the end of 1963, and it is credited with being the first car to officially break the 300 kph mark during practice for the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans.
[ Aston Martin DP215 results here ]
1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato - £10,081,500 ($13.33M/€11.39M)
Bonhams, Goodwood, UK - 13 July, 2018
An ex-Jim Clark 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato set a new record for the most expensive British car sold at auction in Europe when it took £10,081,500 at Bonhams’ Goodwood Festival of Speed sale. ‘2 VEV’ was campaigned in 1962 by Clark at Goodwood’s TT and later that year in the 1000km at Montlhéry.
[ Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato results here ]