The Top 10 Most Expensive Classic Cars Sold at Auction in 2022
Updated: Dec 27, 2022
Tacking classic car auction results from around the world in 2022 has been a fascinating game. While the headlines focused on the world record breaking Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut, from Monterey to London big sale prices were not in short supply.
Here are the top 10 most expensive classic cars sold at auction in 2022:
10. 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C - $7,595,000
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Auction Location: Monterey, United States
One of 12 produced the 275 GTB/C is an evolution of the standard long nose 275 GTB road car. The GTB/C thin gauge lightweight aluminium coachwork that is so light that should you choose to lean on it, you're likely to dent it. Various weight-saving measures across the car resulting in a 275 GTB/C fully equipped with fluids, spare tire and tool kit weighing 2,452 lb (1,112 kg) and in race trim without spare and tool kit, it can weigh less than 2,350 lb (1,070 kg), a savings of over 150 kg (331 lb) compared to the alloy bodied road cars.
It packs two competition fuel tanks with an engine tuned up to 250 LM specification. Quite the combination.
The price to drive it in anger: $7,595,000.
9. 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC Spider by Scaglietti - $7,815,000
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Auction Location: Monterey, United States
The 500 TRC was evolved from the Ferrari 500 TR, the C coming from compliance with the FIA's Appendix C regulations.
19 500 TRC's were built and this is the 18th of those 19 cars to be built.
Chassis 0706, sold here, raced 30 times between 1957 and 1963, placing on the podium on 18 occasions. 0706 also raced at 24 hours of Le Mans and 12 hours of Sebring.
8. 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione - £7,762,500
Auction House: Gooding & Co
Auction Location: London, England
75 competizione’s were built and this one was purpose built to race at 24hrs of Le Mans in 1960 where it finished 6th overall. More recently, it has been successfully campaigned at Le Mans Classic, Goodwood Revival and Tour Auto. With only two private owners since 1984 and a recent restoration in a collaboration between Ferrari Classiche and the McLaren guru's at Lanzante this SWB rightly took top lot at Gooding and Co's London auction this year.
7. 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C "Tulipwood" Torpedo by Nieuport-Astra - $9,245,000
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Auction Location: Monterey, United States
Say Hispano-Suiza to someone in the street and they’ve no idea if youre talking about a lawn mower or a watch. Say Hispano-Suiza to a car person and they’ve know you’re a person of taste and means - and this is probably the most famous one of the lot.
Known as the Tulipwood Torpedo, it's more akin to an airplane body than a car. Indeed, the body was crafted by an aircraft manufacturer - Nieuport-Astra - using mahogany stips of wood 1/8th of an inch thick. It's art on wheels.
6. 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen - $9,905,000
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Auction Location: Monterey, United States
The vehicle was originally delivered to the King of Afghanistan in 1937. Yes, you read that right. Afghanistan back then was a slightly different place to what it is today, Kabul was rapidly growing and incresingly modern and it made the perfect playground for a young King to prowl the streets in his 540 K.
It did so for many years before being sent to the Afghan embassy in Paris. It was given to the King’s son-in-law in 1950 and it came over to England before being sold in the summer of 1953 to the States. It’s been across multiple collections since arriving in the US, but it still has plenty of stories to tell. The tires it is rolling on are the period Dunlop tires on which it likely emerged from England to name just one.
5. 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante - $10,345,000
Auction House: Gooding & Co
Auction Location: Pebble Beach, United States
The Bugatti Type 57 - one of the most iconic and desirable outputs from the men and women at Molscheim. In this instance, we're talking about the Type 57S Atalante. The S in 57S stands for surbaiss - French for lowered - and by several inches. Bugatti built 42 examples of 57S between 1936 and 1938.
In period, Type 57’s could be bought as a bare chassis and supplied to coachbuilers, the most famous however came from Jean Bugatti at Molsheim - the Atalante and Atlantic.
17 Atalante’s were originally supplied, this being number 10 in that run with no two exactly the same. No Bugatti has sold for more this year, giving it the 5th spot for 2022 and making it the 2nd most expensive Bugatti ever sold at auction.
Note: if one of the 2 and a half remaining Atalantic's had come for sale we'd have a new Bugatti world record.
4. 2003 Ferrari F2003 GA - CHF 14,630,000 (£11.85m)
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Auction Location: Geneva, Switzerland
When F1 cars come to auction, the likelihood is you're not getting the running gear with the car, let alone having it in full working order. Well this is your chance to get just that.
What if you could not get just that but also a car that Michael Schumacher raced in? And drove to 5 victories in his 2003 WC winning season? And the actual car he crossed the line to clinch his six WC title in?
Tick. Tick. Tick.
That's why this is the most expensive F1 car to sell in history.
3. 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop Coupe - $12,200,000
Auction House: Gooding & Co
Auction Location: Amelia Island, United States
Nope, it’s not a lake in Northern italy. Talbot-Lago is a now defunct manufacturer from Northern France. And their pre-war cars were some of the finest around. Don’t just take our word for it.
In the car world there are a handful of concours events that sit above the rest and Pebble Beach is the World Cup. This car took home first in class at the event in 2005 as well as a series of Best of Show awards in the following years including at Amelia Island in 2007.
The car headed back to Amelia Island 15 years later to be sold by Gooding and Co for $12.2m - the 3rd most expensive car sold at auction this year.
2. 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti - $22,005,000
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Auction Location: Monterey, United States
How good would it be if you were super rich? And you could get your hands on ex-factory race cars without too many regulations? It’d be even cooler if you could get the greatest racers of the day to compete in them around the country
Welcome to the 1950s race scene in America.
This was a golden era of racing with some of the most beautifully sculpted and ferociously specced cars of the day.
The Ferrari 410 Sport Spider played its part in that golden era. Juan Manuel Fangio, Caroll Shelby and Phil Hill all steered this car on its way to being sold by RM Sotheby’s for $22m.
1. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut - €135,000,000 (£115m)
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Auction Location: Stuttgart, Germany
While the story of this car is fascinating and we've written in detail about it here, the bigger question it prompts is what its sibling known as 722 would sell for? 722 was the 1955 Mille Miglia winning 300 SLR driven 1000 miles across Italy by Stirling Moss in a time never to be beaten. It's THE car in the Mercedes-Benz museum. It's THE car in racing folklore. It's THE car to have in the world.
If the Uhlenhaut is €135,000,000, don’t be surprised if the €200,000,000 barrier is breached if the car ever sold. Not that Mercedes would, would they?
There we have it - the top 10 most expensive cars sold at auction in 2022.