Ferrari leads the top ten most expensive car sales of all time. An auction during the 2022 Monterey Auto Week added another copy “made in Maranello” to the top ten of the list. The details and how the ranking is today, below.
Ferrari made history again during the Monterey Car Week 2022. The auction event organized by the RM Sotheby’s house anticipated the sale of a copy with a laureate past in international motorsports and even during the weeks prior to the appointment in the city of California, a record amount was speculated.
And so it was, because for this racing relic its new owner has paid more than 22 million dollars, a figure that does not even come close to equaling or exceeding the 250 GTO acquired in 2018 for 80 million -the most expensive horse of all time – but enough to become one of the ten most expensive car sales in history.
It’s about a Ferrari 410 Sport Spider 1955, a Scaglietti-bodied car that retains the original engine and chassis. The benefits are just a part of his temptation but the origin of his epic. Its twelve V-shaped cylinders and its 4.9 liters were used by extraordinary drivers who made it one of the most legendary racing cars.
It was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio in 1956, the season in which the Argentine became Formula 1 world champion. Meanwhile, for Carroll Shelby this Ferrari represents his happiest years as a driver. With this 410 Sport he obtained eight victories and 10 podiums, which means that with no other vehicle he won as much or more.
Regarding the link between the American and this car, his last auction ended with two invaluable extra gifts. It is that this 1955 model was delivered together with two trophies conquered by Shelby at the wheel of the vehicle: his first in 1956 and the last celebration in 1958. A unique piece with an admirable curriculum.
Speaking of invaluable, such a connotation deserves to be attributed to a revealing confession that this 410 Sport hides within its bodywork. A handwritten statement that may surprise a considerable number of Ferrari fans, except for those who know what the matter is. In this link I tell them in detail and with the photo.
This is today the top ten most expensive sales in history
With its sale in $22,005,000, this 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider is now part of the top ten most expensive car sales. It surpassed the Duesenberg SSJ 1935, which was in tenth place in the ranking published by Hagerty -eleventh if the aforementioned Ferrari 250 GTO 1963 that the American company omits is considered- after its auction at 22 million during the Monterey Car Week 2018, while equaled the ninth -tenth according to the previous criteria-, a 1959 Ferrari 290 MM sold in Los Angeles also for US$ 22,005,000.
The House of Maranello leads in quantity the cut of the first ten. In addition to having three 250 GTOs and the aforementioned 290 MM, it provides a 335 S model from 1957, a 290 MM Sports Racer from 1956, a 275 GTB/4 NART Spider from 1967 and a 276 GTB/C from 1964. Aston Martin made a place for itself with a 1956 DBR1 Roadster and Mercedes-Benz enters two units, including a 1954 W196.
The list had already been updated in May 2022, when a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Uhlenhaut -curiously also a 1955 model- was auctioned for 142 million dollars in a private meeting and dethroned the 250 GTO 1963 from first place. Will there be more surprises by the end of the season or should we wait until 2023 for the list to return to to update?