The 10 Most Expensive Cars Sold at Auction in 2018

It's been a heck of a year: Since the beginning of 2018, Apple topped a trillion-dollar market cap, Hurricane Michael ravaged the eastern seaboard, Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on female drivers, Canada legalized marijuana, and the President of the United States sat down with the Supreme Leader of North Korea. None of that is how collectors and brokers of classic cars will remember the year, however, as it was one for the record books for vintage wheels. A new high-water mark was set for the most expensive car ever sold at auction, and the next nine most expensive rides gave last year's crop a run for its money, too. Hagerty, which tracks auction results throughout the year, pulled together a list of the most eye-wateringly expensive cars that traded hands in open auctions in 2018-now read on, and try not to think about your bank account's size-or lack thereof.

Few marques elicit the kind of unbridled enthusiasm that Porsche does. Prices have shot up accordingly in recent years, even if the relatively large numbers Porsches were built in keep their prices out of the stratosphere where classic Ferraris trade hands. An exception was made this past October at the German automaker's U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, where an auction dedicated to Porsche's 70th anniversary was held. A rare Porsche 959, a non-roadgoing example that was one of only three Group B machines that the factory entered in the 1985 Paris-Dakar rally and one of seven developmental prototypes, nearly doubled its pre-sale estimate with a sale price of $5.9 million.

Scroll through this auction roundup and (spoiler alert!) you're going to see a lot of Ferraris. This is one of the not-Ferraris, an Alfa Romeo . . . but it was originally campaigned by Scuderia Ferrari before it struck out in its own. It is a Tipo B grand-prix racer from the early 1930s, predating the outbreak of the Second World War and the subsequent advent of the modern Formula One World Championship. This Alfa was one of the first "Monopostos"-single-seat racing cars with a centered cockpit-and it would go down as one of the most victorious examples. Noted racer, aviator, and collector Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth acquired the Tipo B from the Scuderia in 1935 and drove it to victory in the grand prix at Donington that year. More than eight decades later, it sold at Goodwood in July 2018 for £4.6 million, which translates to just over $6 million in U.S. dollars.

The name Tour de France is more commonly associated with bicycle racing these days, but there was a time when cars raced across Gaul in their own Tour. Ferrari positively dominated these events, winning every year from 1956 through 1964. The long-wheelbase 250 GTs that took those initial victories became known as Tour de France and held such pride of place in the marque's history that Ferrari recently revived the TdF name for a hardcore F12Berlinetta variant. Only 77 examples of the original TdFs were made, and so when one of them came up for auction at Pebble Beach this past summer, after 52 years in the hands of the same owner, it stole big money. Beautifully restored to its original metallic dark gray with light gray interior, the TdF fell closer to the lower end of its pre-sale estimate, but still brought in an impressive $6.6 million.

Typically, 250-series Ferraris fetch higher prices than their successors, the 275 models, but this 275 GTB proved molto speciale. Whereas most other 275s were skinned by Scaglietti, this particular model was assembled by Pininfarina for its founder Battista "Pinin" Farina. As you might expect, there are numerous special touches: The custom grille, headlamp covers, and Heuer stopwatches. Ol' Pinin had his 275 painted Acqua Verde metallic (borrowed from the Alfa Romeo catalog) and upholstered with a deep red-colored leather. He displayed it at auto shows in Frankfurt, Paris, and Turin (among others). After 25 years under one owner's care (Battista passed away shortly after taking possession of this Ferrari), the 275 GTB went under the hammer in Scottsdale, where it fetched a hair over $8 million.

If ever there was an American classic that belonged among these prancing stallions, it surely is the Ford GT40. This is the car that beat Maranello at its own game in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After six consecutive victories (and three more before) at the storied French endurance race, Enzo's Scuderia was defeated in 1966 by a mainstream automaker from Dearborn, Michigan. This very GT40 was the car that rounded out Ford's famous 1-2-3 finish that year, and it is the fourth of eight Mark II examples built. Raced in period by such legends as Ken Miles, Richie Ginther, A.J. Foyt, Mark Donohue, and Peter Revson, it presented a compelling buy. These cars simply don't come up for sale that often. So when this historic example became available in Monterey this past August, it's little wonder it sold for a whopping $9.8 million.

Of all the automaker-coachbuilder collaborations to have been forged over four wheels, Aston Martin's relationship with Zagato has furnished some mighty fine creations. The two are still at it today, the continuation of a romance that began nearly six decades ago with the splendid transformation of the DB4 into a masterpiece that could give Ferrari's 250 GTO a run for its money (visually, at least). The GT Zagato, or "2 VEV" as it was known by its registration number, was no mere beauty queen, and this genuine thoroughbred sold by Bonhams at Goodwood arguably is the most notable of the 20 examples built. It is one of three prepared by the factory to lightweight MP209 specification, and one of only two raced extensively by the quasi-works Essex Racing Stable. It even raced decades prior at Goodwood, the location of its sale this year for £10 million-that's $13 million in Yankee greenbacks.

Difficult though it may seem, an even more notable (and valuable) Aston Martin sold at auction just a month later after the aforementioned GT Zagato-and for nearly twice as much money. Design Project 215, as it is known, was a one-off prototype and the last racer built by David Brown (whose initials, DB, still adorn the marque's grand tourers). Nominally based on the same DB4 GT chassis as the Zagato, it instead was cloaked in-house in experimental magnesium-aluminum bodywork. Aston Martin built DP215 on a shoestring budget just two months before Phil Hill drove it at Le Mans in 1963, where he ran the car up to 198.6 miles per hour down the Mulsanne Straight. An overtasked transmission took the car out of the race after just two hours, and 55 years later, it sped through Monterey's auctions and into a new owner's hands for $21.5 million.

Curious which American car was the most expensive ever sold at auction? You're looking at it. This 1935 Duesenberg SSJ is one of only two ever made. It belonged to Hollywood icon Gary Cooper, who bought it after admiring the one that belonged to his (no less famous) colleague Clark Gable. Its bobtail speedster bodywork shrouds an enormous 6.9-liter supercharged straight-eight, which makes nearly 400 horsepower. That was a massive output figure in the mid-1930s, and it could propel the Duesenberg to a top speed of 140 mph. Following its star-studded commission, the SSJ passed through a string of prominent hands, including those of the famed Briggs Cunningham, who sold it to noted collector Miles Collier, who in turn put it up for auction in Monterey this past summer. There it sold for $22 million, cementing its place in the record book.

A memorable year of high-dollar auction results could very well have entered the annals of history without another eight-figure Ferrari, but early in December this 290 MM garnered its place among the top sellers. Campaigned in period as a Scuderia Ferrari works car, this spider was extensively modified over the course of its history, most notably seeing its four-cylinder engine (the configuration in which it took second place among five Ferraris in the top five spots at the 1956 Mille Miglia) swapped for a twelve. Driver Stirling Moss later showed off the car's true potential, dominating the Bahamas races the following year. The marque's famed American importer Louis Chinetti (and his heir after his passing) kept the 290 MM for 26 years before the decorated Cavallino sold earlier this month at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles for just over $22 million.

Indiana Jones had his Holy Grail-and so, too, did, uh, Christianity-and car folk place the Ferrari 250 GTO on a similar plane. A moneyed classic-car collector rose above the rest this year to acquire one, paying a record sum for the example you see here. The third of only 36 built, 250 GTO chassis number 3413 took more than 15 class and outright victories in European sports-car racing in the early 1960s, including two class wins in the Targa Florio, and another at the 1963 Italian GT championship. It is one of just seven Series I examples to have been re-bodied by Scaglietti with a more streamlined shape that, while not as recognizable as the original design, certainly didn't harm the car's value: It sold for a headline-grabbing $48.4 million in Monterey this summer, more than anyone has ever paid for any car at a public automobile auction.