- 🥇 Absolute record · Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé 1955: 135 million euros, RM Sotheby’s, May 2022
- 🏎️ Most expensive new car · Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail, estimated at around 30 million dollars
- 🐎 Ferrari record · A 1962 330 LM / 250 GTO at 51.7 million dollars
- 📈 Latest record to date · Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé 1964: 42.9 million at Pebble Beach, August 2026
- ⚠️ Not to be confused · An auction record is not the price of a new car
Two figures circulate under the same title, and they have nothing to do with each other. On one hand, auction records, which concern collector cars whose value stems from their racing history. On the other, the most expensive new cars, ordered individually by clients whom manufacturers never name. Here are the two rankings, separated.
The ranking of auction records
These amounts were paid in the auction room, including fees. They apply to vintage cars, almost all of which come from competition.
| # | The car | Price | Sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR « Uhlenhaut Coupé » (1955) One of two examples built, long owned by the manufacturer | 135 M€ ≈ 142 M$ | RM Sotheby’s May 2022 |
| 2 | Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO (1962) Winner at the Nürburgring with the official team | 51.7 M$ | Sotheby’s New York Nov. 2023 |
| 3 | Ferrari 250 GTO (1962) Thirty-six examples produced, the most coveted automobile on the market | 48.4 M$ | RM Sotheby’s August 2018 |
| 4 | Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé (1964) Latest major record to date | 42.9 M$ | Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach, August 2026 |
Why a 1955 Mercedes is worth three Ferraris
The Uhlenhaut Coupé never raced. It is a racing 300 SLR fitted with a roof, built in two examples for the brand’s chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, who used it as a company car. Mercedes had kept both for sixty-seven years and only sold one, to benefit a scholarship fund. A unique piece on the market, never traded before, and where the seller was the manufacturer itself: the three conditions that make a record.
The most expensive new cars
Here, no auctions. These are special orders, billed to a single client. None of these manufacturers officially confirms their prices: the amounts below are those reported by the specialised press, and they should be read as orders of magnitude.
| # | The car | Estimated price | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail One example, four years of development, marquetry of 1,603 pieces of wood | ≈ 30 M$ | 2023 |
| 2 | Rolls-Royce Boat Tail Three examples, rear boot designed like a yacht deck | ≈ 28 M$ | 2021 |
| 3 | Bugatti La Voiture Noire Unique example, 1,500 hp quad-turbo W16 | ≈ 18.7 M$ | 2019 |
What creates these prices
Three factors, and only one is mechanical. Rarity first: one, two, or three examples, never more. Then labour time: the Droptail’s marquetry required wood to be dried for months before being assembled into 1,603 pieces. And finally history, which cannot be bought: it is what separates the 142 million of the Mercedes from the 30 million of a Rolls-Royce that left the workshop last year.
This also explains why the auction ranking is dominated by racing cars from the fifties and sixties, while the new car ranking is dominated by bespoke coachwork. The former are documents, the latter are objects.
Are these cars an investment
For a handful of references, yes, and the figures show it: the 250 GTO went from 48.4 million in 2018 to 51.7 million for a sister car in 2023. But these performances concern a few dozen chassis in the world, all documented, all tracked. Below this circle, a modern hypercar produced in several hundred examples follows the market like any luxury good: it depreciates first, and only rises if the series becomes a collector’s item.
Ranking updated on 13 September 2026. Auction records are collected from RM Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s and Gooding Christie’s.
