The most expensive European car ever sold is the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, which went for €135 million (about $143 million) at a private RM Sotheby’s auction in Stuttgart in May 2022. As of October 2026 nothing has come close: the next best European car, a 1954 Mercedes grand prix racer, made about $54 million. This list ranks the five highest verified auction prices paid for European cars, then looks at what the most expensive new European cars cost to order today.
| Rank | Car | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé | About $143 million (€135 million) | May 2022 | RM Sotheby’s, Stuttgart |
| 2 | 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 R Stromlinienwagen | About $53.9 million (€51.2 million) | February 2025 | RM Sotheby’s, Stuttgart |
| 3 | 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO | $51.7 million | November 2023 | RM Sotheby’s, New York |
| 4 | 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis 3413GT) | $48.4 million | August 2018 | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 5 | 2026 Ferrari Luce “Tailor Made” (chassis 0) | $40 million | August 2026 | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
1. Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé: about $143 million
Mercedes built two of these in 1955, essentially a Silver Arrow race car with a roof and doors, for its chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, who gave the car its name. One stayed with the company and is shown at its museum. In May 2022 Mercedes invited a short list of collectors to its museum in Stuttgart and sold the other one. The hammer fell at €135 million, more than €90 million above the previous auction record.
Reportedly the proceeds seeded a Mercedes-Benz fellowship fund for education and research, which helps explain why the seller was happy to part with it. The buyer remains a private collector who agreed to let the car be shown on special occasions. The number rests on the auction house’s own announcement, converted at the dollar rate quoted at the time, and it includes the buyer’s premium.
2. Mercedes-Benz W196 R Stromlinienwagen: about $53.9 million
The streamlined, fully enclosed body of this 1954 Formula One car looks like a bar of soap with wheels, and that body is the point. It is a grand prix car from the golden age of the Silver Arrows, and it sold in Stuttgart in February 2025 for €51.155 million, making it the most valuable grand prix car ever sold at auction. Our figure uses the euro price from the sale report and the dollar conversion widely quoted for it, premium included.
3. Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO: $51.7 million
The name tells the story: it is a hybrid of a 330 LM and a 250 GTO, a unique car that sits between two of Ferrari’s most coveted race programmes. That rarity made it the third most expensive European car at auction. It sold in New York in November 2023 for $51.705 million with premium. We took the total from the lot result and checked it against the published records list for the category.
4. Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis 3413GT: $48.4 million
This was the car that held the all-time auction record for four years, until the Mercedes sale reset the scale. Chassis 3413GT is a 1962 car. It crossed the block at Monterey in August 2018 for $48.405 million including premium. Only 36 GTOs were built, and owners tend to keep them: the gap between sales is measured in years, not months. The price here is the hammer plus buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
5. Ferrari Luce “Tailor Made”: $40 million
The newest entry is also the strangest one, because the car has not been delivered yet. The Luce is Ferrari’s new model, and this one is chassis zero, the first production chassis, finished in a pearlescent paint that shifts from green to violet depending on the light. It sold at Monterey in August 2026 for $40 million. All proceeds go to the Ferrari Foundation, the buyer’s premium was waived, and delivery is planned for early 2027. We rank it by the price shown on the lot page.
Just behind it sits the white 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO known as Bianco Speciale, chassis 3729GT, which sold at Mecum in Kissimmee in January 2026 for $38.5 million including fees. That was the highest price in Mecum’s history, though pre-sale chatter had hoped for more.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- February 2025: the W196 R Stromlinienwagen set the record for a grand prix car, at about €51.2 million.
- August 2025: a one-off Ferrari Daytona SP3 “Tailor Made” sold at Monterey for $26 million, reportedly a record for a new Ferrari at auction.
- January 2026: the white 250 GTO took $38.5 million at Kissimmee, the biggest result in Mecum’s history.
- August 2026: the Luce chassis zero went for $40 million, which put it ahead of every Ferrari 250 GTO auction result of the past three years except the 2023 hybrid.
The most expensive new European cars
If you want to order rather than bid, the picture looks different. The Rolls-Royce Droptail, shown in August 2023 and built in four one-of-a-kind versions, is estimated at more than $32 million, which makes it the priciest new car on sale. At the other end of this class, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ was priced at 3.5 million euros net in 2019, and a one-off Bugatti Chiron Profilée sold at RM Sotheby’s in February 2023 for €9.79 million.
The older curiosities on our original list were pricier on paper than in practice. The Pininfarina-built Rolls-Royce Hyperion, made for a single collector in 2008, changed hands in 2009 for £4 million. It is a lovely car and it would not make the top five today.
What drives these prices
- Single examples. Four of the five cars here are one of one or one of a handful. A price like this pays for the fact that nobody else can ever own the same thing.
- Racing pedigree. Both Mercedes cars and both older Ferraris raced, or were built to race, in the 1950s and 1960s. Race history is the strongest currency in the market.
- Manufacturer involvement. When the maker sells its own car, the provenance question disappears. Buyers pay for that certainty.
- A small circle of buyers. Perhaps a few dozen people can bid at this level, so a single determined bidder can move a record by tens of millions.
- Charity and story. The Luce shows that a good cause and a first-of-its-kind number can drag a brand-new car into the same room as museum pieces.
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What is the most expensive European car ever sold?
The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, sold for €135 million (about $143 million) in Stuttgart in May 2022. It is also the most expensive car of any origin ever sold at auction.
What is the most expensive Ferrari sold at auction?
The 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO at $51.7 million in November 2023. Ferrari 250 GTOs have also changed hands in private deals reported at higher figures, but those are not auction results.
What is the most expensive new European car you can buy?
The Rolls-Royce Droptail, with an estimated price above $32 million for each of its four commissioned versions. Bugatti’s one-off specials and limited Chiron variants sit well below that.
Did the Ferrari Luce really sell for $40 million?
Yes. The first production chassis sold at Monterey in August 2026 for $40 million, with the proceeds going to the Ferrari Foundation. Delivery is planned for early 2027.
Why do old racing cars sell for more than new hypercars?
They cannot be rebuilt. A new hypercar has a waiting list and a factory behind it, while a 1950s grand prix winner exists once and has a documented place in racing history.
What does a good classic European sports car cost?
Prices span a huge range. Entry-level classics start in the tens of thousands of dollars, while blue-chip Ferraris and Mercedes racers start in the millions. Condition and documented history decide almost everything.
How we put this list together
We ranked cars by the verified price paid at auction, including the buyer’s premium where stated, and compiled results from the auction houses into an internal valuation model. Prices are approximate, are converted to US dollars at the rate of the sale year, and change over time.
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Last updated: October 2026.
