These are the 10 most expensive cars of 2016
11/21/2016
Hardly much will happen in the top 10 most expensive cars traded at auction in 2016 . Even number 10, at over EUR 9.1 million (CHF 10.1 million), is too far away from the estimated values that are still being quoted for the last auctions of the year.
So now we can look back and review the ten most expensive cars.
What stands out when analyzing the list is the high proportion of pre-war classics. While they are appearing less and less frequently at auctions, they still make a statement with four of the ten most expensive.
It is also striking that no newer classics - the youngest on the list dates back to 1962 - made it into the top ten. And finally, "only" four Ferrari sports cars made it onto the list, whereas there were significantly more last year.
First place goes to the 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport sold by Artcurial in Paris with Scaglietti spider bodywork and a truly impressive palmares and complete history (picture above).
Second place goes to the 1955 Jaguar D-Type, which RM/Sotheby's brokered to a new owner in Pebble Beach, actually a pure racing car.
Third place goes to the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider Touring from 1939. The bodywork was ahead of its time and still looks very elegant almost 80 years later.
In 4th place we then find the first of two Ferrari 250 GT California Spiders, namely the LWB Competizione model from 1959, which was sold by Gooding in Pebble Beach.
5th place goes to the second California Spider in the top 10, namely an SWB variant from 1961, also knocked down by Gooding, but in Amelia Island.
Sixth place then goes to the first and only American on the list, a Shelby 260 Cobra from 1962, the first CSC 2000, so to speak, sold by RM/Sotheby's in Pebble Beach.
7th place was once again taken by a Ferrari, this time a 250 GT SWB Competizione from 1960, sold by Gooding in Pebble Beach.
Eighth place was taken by an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza from 1933, which Gooding was able to pass on to new hands in Pebble Beach.
In 9th place is a Bugatti, a Type 55 Roadster from 1932, sold by Gooding in Pebble Beach.
Finally, the last place in the top 10 is taken by a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster with factory bodywork, which RM/Sotheby's in Arizona had on the lot list in January 2016.
Together, they would cost the sum of EUR 153 million (CHF 168 million); these classics are actually prohibitively expensive. And whether they are really that much more fun for the owner than perhaps an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider or a Renault 4 for someone else is also not certain ...
Here is the list for sorting (VPreis means sales price, %Est compares the sales price with the estimated value at the time).
| Rg | Vehicle year | Year | Auctioneer | Auction | € VPrice | CHF VPrice | % Est |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti | 1957 | Artcurial | Paris (Feb '16) | 32075200 | 35603472 | 0.93 |
| 2 | Jaguar D-Type | 1955 | RM/Sotheby's | Pebble (Aug '16) | 19166400 | 20908800 | 0.97 |
| 3 | Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider Touring | 1939 | RM/Sotheby's | Pebble (Aug '16) | 17424000 | 19008000 | 0.88 |
| 4 | Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione | 1959 | Gooding & Co | Pebble (Aug '16) | 15972000 | 17424000 | 0.96 |
| 5 | Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider | 1961 | Gooding & Co | Amerlia (March '16) | 15444000 | 16816800 | 1.07 |
| 6 | Shelby 260 Cobra "CSX 2000" | 1962 | RM/Sotheby's | Pebble (Aug '16) | 12100000 | 13200000 | |
| 7 | Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione | 1960 | Gooding & Co | Pebble (Aug '16) | 11880000 | 12960000 | 0.82 |
| 8 | Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza | 1933 | Gooding & Co | Pebble (Aug '16) | 10551200 | 11510400 | 0.89 |
| 9 | Bugatti Type 55 Roadster | 1932 | Gooding & Co | Pebble (Aug '16) | 9152000 | 9984000 | 0.87 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster | 1937 | RM/Sotheby's | Arizona (Jan '16) | 9108000 | 10098000 | 0.86 |
Of course, we have reported in detail on all these auctionsand at least two dozen more. We also have more photos of most of the vehicles shown above in our photo archive.
