The most expensive British car ever sold is a 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, which fetched $34.655 million at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale in August 2026. It beat the previous McLaren F1 record by roughly $9 million. This list ranks the seven highest verified sales of British cars at auction, then covers what has sold on British soil, because the old answer to “most expensive car in Britain” was a Ferrari that changed hands in Derbyshire in 2014.
| Rank | Car | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996 McLaren F1 GTR (chassis 10R) | $34,655,000 | Aug 2026 | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 2 | 1994 McLaren F1 (chassis 014) | $25,300,000 | Dec 2025 | RM Sotheby’s, Abu Dhabi |
| 3 | 1956 Aston Martin DBR1/1 | $22,550,000 | Aug 2017 | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 4 | 1955 Jaguar D-Type (Ecurie Ecosse) | $21,780,000 | Aug 2016 | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 5 | 1995 McLaren F1 (chassis 029) | $20,465,000 | Aug 2021 | Gooding & Company, Pebble Beach |
| 6 | 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato | about $13,300,000 (GBP 10,081,500) | Jul 2018 | Bonhams, Goodwood Festival of Speed |
| 7 | Birkin Bentley (Bonhams) | about $7,900,000 | Jul 2018 | Bonhams, Goodwood Festival of Speed |
We previously ran this page with a single car: a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold privately by a Derbyshire dealer in 2014. That sale was never officially confirmed, so it sits in its own section below.
1. 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, chassis 10R: $34,655,000
The newest record on this list is also the biggest. A 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, chassis 10R, sold at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale in August 2026 for $34.655 million with fees. RM Sotheby’s called it the most valuable McLaren F1 and the top British car at auction.
It was one of nine F1 GTRs built in 1996. The car worked as a factory promotional machine and ran 12 hours of testing before Le Mans, but it never raced. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason bought it from McLaren afterwards, and McLaren converted it for road use. It has been through two crashes and two rebuilds: a wheat field in 2009 with a journalist at the wheel, and the 2017 Goodwood Members’ Meeting with Mason driving. Neither dented the price.
How we valued it: final hammer price plus buyer’s premium, as reported by the auction house on the results from the August 2026 sale.
2. 1994 McLaren F1, chassis 014: about $25.3 million
Before the GTR, this was the benchmark. Chassis 014, a road-going F1 with Brunei royal provenance and a factory High Downforce Kit fitted in 2007, sold at RM Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi sale on 5 December 2025. The hammer price was $22.5 million, which came to about $25.3 million with the buyer’s premium.
It is one of 64 road-legal F1s built. Cars with a documented royal ownership and the downforce package are the ones collectors chase hardest, and the result showed it.
How we valued it: hammer price of $22.5 million plus buyer’s premium, about $25.3 million in total, from the December 2025 sale results.
3. 1956 Aston Martin DBR1/1: $22,550,000
The first of the five DBR1 sports racers built is the car that won the 1959 Nurburgring 1000 km. Its drivers included Carroll Shelby, Jack Brabham, Roy Salvadori and Stirling Moss. It sold on 18 August 2017 after a phone battle between two bidders, against an estimate of more than $20 million.
It held the top spot among British cars until McLaren F1 sales passed it, first in December 2025.
How we valued it: hammer plus buyer’s premium, from the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2017 results.
4. Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type: $21,780,000
The Ecurie Ecosse D-Type that won the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson sold at Monterey in August 2016. At about $21.78 million it was the British auction record of its day.
A Le Mans winner with an unbroken race history is the safest bet in the collector market. The D-Type shows why.
How we valued it: hammer plus buyer’s premium, from the sale results for the August 2016 auction.
5. 1995 McLaren F1, chassis 029: about $20.47 million
Chassis 029 is the 25th of 64 road cars, delivered new to a collector in Japan. It showed just 243 miles when it crossed the block in August 2021, which made it the first F1 to sell above $20 million. The previous F1 high was $15.62 million, set in 2017.
Reported figures vary by a few thousand dollars depending on how fees are rounded.
How we valued it: hammer plus buyer’s premium, from the Gooding & Company Pebble Beach 2021 results; we round to $20.47 million.
6. 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato: GBP 10,081,500 (about $13.3 million)
This is the best sale on British soil on the list. The DB4 GT Zagato raced at Le Mans in 1961, took part in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Goodwood with Jim Clark at the wheel and also ran at Montlhery. It sat with one family from 1971, and sold to a European buyer at the Goodwood Festival of Speed sale on 13 July 2018.
Bonhams called it the most valuable British car sold at a European auction. At the 2018 exchange rate the pound price converts to roughly $13.3 million, our conversion.
How we valued it: final price with premium in pounds, converted at the approximate July 2018 exchange rate.
7. Birkin Bentley: about $7.9 million
Bonhams sold a Birkin Bentley at the same Goodwood sale, at about $7.87 million.
Pre-war racing Bentleys with a Le Mans story are the most sought after cars the marque ever built, and prices at this level are rare for a car from the 1920s.
How we valued it: reported final price with premium at the July 2018 sale, hedged because we found it in one report.
Sold in Britain: the Testa Rossa and the 2025 Goodwood sale
In early 2014 Derbyshire dealer Tom Hartley Jr sold the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa chassis 0704 (the second prototype, with a Sebring win in 1958) after buying it from Dutch collector Eric Heerema. Reports put the price around GBP 24 million, roughly $39 million. Hartley confirmed the sale but not the price, so we do not rank it. Still, it remains the highest reported price for a car changing hands in Britain.
For public auctions on British soil, the 2018 Zagato at Goodwood is our top verified result. At Bonhams’ 2025 Goodwood sale the top lot was a 2023 Mercedes-AMG ONE, which made GBP 2,456,600.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
Three of the five biggest results are from the last 12 months. In December 2025 chassis 014 became the first F1 to pass $25 million, and in August 2026 the F1 GTR leapt past it to $34.655 million. At the same Monterey week a 2026 Ferrari Luce sold for $40 million for charity, the most ever paid for a new car at auction. It is not British, so it stays off this list.
What drives these prices
- Racing provenance beats everything: the D-Type, the DBR1, the Zagato and the F1 GTR all come from factory or works racing programmes.
- Rarity in numbers: 64 road F1s, nine F1 GTRs, five DBR1s.
- Single family or celebrity ownership, as with Nick Mason or the Zagato family.
- Condition matters less than history: a twice-crashed GTR set the record.
- The market has moved from sports racers of the 1950s to 1990s supercars, and prices have followed buyers’ age.
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What is the most expensive British car ever sold?
A 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, chassis 10R, sold for $34.655 million at RM Sotheby’s Monterey in August 2026.
What is the most expensive car ever sold in Britain?
Our top verified UK auction result is the 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato at GBP 10,081,500 in July 2018. A Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa reportedly changed hands privately in Derbyshire in 2014 for about GBP 24 million, but the price was never confirmed.
Who bought the McLaren F1 GTR?
The buyer was not named in the results we found.
What was the previous McLaren F1 record?
Chassis 014 sold for about $25.3 million in Abu Dhabi in December 2025.
What is the cheapest car on this list?
The Birkin Bentley at about $7.9 million.
Is a normal McLaren F1 cheaper than the GTR?
Yes. Road cars made $20.47 million in 2021 and about $25.3 million in 2025, below the GTR’s $34.655 million.
How we put this list together
We ranked every entry by the price actually paid, using auction results, announced sales and recorded closings, and compared them in our own valuation model. Prices are approximate, include fees where stated, and change as new sales happen.
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Last updated: October 2026.
