The top ten most expensive sales on the online auction site were all from one of only four vehicle brands: Bugatti, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche.
Bring a Trailer, which, like Car and Driver, is owned by Hearst Autos, and sells hundreds of automobiles each year. They’ve sold over 24,000 autos on the site so far this year. Our employees like browsing the postings and selecting their favourites for the day. It’s a very varied assortment. Do you remember the 1974 Bricklin SV-1? What about the time our editor-in-previous chief Lancia Fulvia became available for purchase? But, rather than risking a fierce war if we required the editors to vote on their favourite auctions of the year, we chose to assemble the top ten most costly auctions instead.
1. Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta 2017
$5,360,000 was paid for the property.
Unfortunately, Ferrari is a brand that does not enjoy participating in our annual Lightning Lap testing, thus we have never been able to film any version of the LaFerrari at our VIR test. When Ferrari agreed to let us test a LaFerrari, it came with a caveat: test in Fiorano, with all of its limits to our standard instrumented tests, or don’t test the car at all.
As a result, the LaFerrari reached 150 mph faster than any vehicle we had ever tested. The Ferrari’s combined 950 horsepower drives it to 60 in 2.5 seconds and through the standing quarter in 9.8 seconds. Those prices are for the normal LaFerrari, but this offering is for the much more uncommon Aperta open-top models. There were around 200 manufactured.
2. Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport 2021
$3,800,000 was paid for the property.
When you look at the “Bug,” you’ll notice a few instantly noticeable cosmetic differences between the Pur Sport and the “lesser” Chiron. The front air intakes are bigger, altering the nose shape of the Chiron. The horseshoe grill grew larger as well. Then there’s the rear, where Bugatti installed a massive diffuser behind an even bigger fixed rear wing. There is no such thing as an understated Bugatti, but the Pur Sport pushes the absurdity of the Chiron even farther, resulting in a ludicrously fast and loud rocket ship for the road.
3. Ferrari F50 1995 (Europe Spec)
$3,305,000 was paid for the property.
When the Ferrari F50 went on sale in the United States, the firm included a restriction to deter possible customers who intended to sell the car quickly. Customers were given the choice of a two-year lease with a $240,000 down payment, 24 months of $5600 payments, and a $150,000 final payment before they could possess the automobile.
Even if $560,640 wasn’t an issue for you, you still had to convince Ferrari that you were worthy of purchasing the blasted thing. 27 years later, you don’t need to persuade Ferrari of your merit as long as your $3.3 million cheque clears the bank.
4. Mercedes-Benz 680 S Sport/4, 1927
$2,800,000 was paid for the property.
This 1927 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Sport/4 was sold in Germany in 1928 and is thought to have resided in Argentina before being brought to the United States. It was bought here by Howard Kizer, the brother of Karl Kizer, the founding curator of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. The museum purchased the automobile in the early 1970s and included it on the Basement Collection tour. The 6.8-litre supercharged inline-six engine is mated to a four-speed manual gearbox. The odometer indicated around 48,000 kilometres at the time of the transaction.
5. Voll and Ruhrbeck’s 1930 Mercedes-Benz 770K Four-Door Cabriolet
$2,555,555 was paid for the property.
This 1930 Mercedes-Benz 770K was ordered new by King Faisal I of Iraq and is one of 117 W07 models made between 1930 and 1938. Voll & Ruhrbeck of Berlin outfitted the chassis with a four-door, three-position cabriolet bodywork. In 1967, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation bought the automobile with the help of Mercedes-Benz and sent it to the IMS Museum. From 2002 to 2007, the vehicle participated in the historic vehicle parades that took place before the F1 USGP races. The 7.7-litre supercharged inline-eight engine generates 200 horsepower and is paired with a three-speed manual gearbox.
6. Ferrari F40 1992
$2,440,444 was paid for the property.
Few automobiles are as easily identified as the Ferrari F40. This automobile was one of around 1311 specimens delivered new in Rome, Italy, before being sold to a private Japanese museum in 1994. The automobile stayed in Japan until the seller acquired it and brought it to the United States in 2022. The F40 weighs 2750 pounds wet, and its 2.9-litre turbocharged V-8 delivers 471 horsepower. The speedometer has a peak speed of 360 kph (224 mph) and a tachometer with a redline of 7800 rpm at 10,000 rpm. When the automobile was originally introduced, Enzo Ferrari told the assembled media that he wanted to build a car that looked like the original 250LM. His desire came true.
7. Porsche 959 Komfort 1987
$2,120,000 was paid for the property.
With 10 days left in the auction, this 959 Komfort had already outbid the last 959 to come on the site, a silver specimen that fell short of its reserve of $810,000. That automobile had 24,000 miles on it, compared to only 807 on this one. Porsche produced only 337 959s over its three-year production span from 1986 to 1988. It was never sold in the United States, but a few have been imported recently. The flat-six engine, adapted from the 956 and 962 racing cars, generated 444 horsepower and had a peak speed of 197 mph.
8. Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Edition 2015
$2,025,000 was paid for the property.
This Weissach Edition 918 Spyder, number 836 of 918, addresses the question, “What is 600 miles worth to you?” With only 1000 miles on it, this automobile was purchased for $50,000 more than the Arena Red counterpart, which sold three months later. The 4.6-litre DOHC V-8 and 6.8-kWh battery pack in the 918 produce a total of 887 go-fast ponies. All four wheels receive power. When the 918 arrived at our annual Lightning Lap testing in 2014, it lapped VIR in an insanely quick 2:43.1, putting it in the hallowed halls of sub-2:45 vehicles.
9. Porsche Carrera GT 2005
$2,000,000 was paid for the property.
This is an automobile that, like Dave Letterman’s next guest, needs no introduction. The 250-mile Carrera GT was advertised with no reserve and received over 800 comments. In an age when supercars and their manufacturers were abandoning manual transmissions, Porsche went all in. It mated the roaring 5.7-litre V-10 to a six-speed manual gearbox, enabling you to experience the engine up to its 8000-rpm redline. Peak power is achieved at 5750 rpm, with 605 horsepower and 435 pound-feet of torque delivered to the rear wheels.
10. Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Edition 2015
$1,975,000 was paid for the property.
The 918 Spyder, the spiritual successor to the Carrera GT, was and continues to be an icon in its way. This Arena Red Paint-to-Sample model is 743 out of 918 manufactured. The $84,000 lightweight carbon Weissach Edition kit altered aerodynamics and added an abundance of carbon fibre to the body. With barely 1600 kilometres on the odometer, the listing received over 300 comments before selling for over $2 million.