Cars are one of the finest investments on the market today, offering as much as a 28% return over 12 months, and 467% over 10 years. This, of course, means a lot of money can be tied up in vintage cars – but have you ever considered just how much it might entail?
New research from MoneySuperMarket has found the top prices for vintage cars ever sold at auction, and some of the figures may surprise you.
Racing Added Value
It seems the classic car brand Ferrari is the name that carries the most weight in buyer circles, with its highest end representative being a sale of a 250 GTO in 2012, which reached a stunning $38,115,000. Only 36 were made, and the model dates back to 1962, but the most significant selling point of this sale was that it was specifically produced for Formula One racer Sir Stirling Moss.
vintage carsother cars included a 1954 Mercedes Benz W196, which featured in 12 Formula One races and won 9 of them (selling for $29,600,000 in 2013), and a Jaguar D-Type, which took home the trophies of the 1955, 56, and 57 Le Mans races and accordingly earned its seller $21,780,000 in August 2016.
Outside of the racing circuits, top sales were for a Bugatti Royale Keliner Coupe and an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider, selling for $9,800,000 ($20,659,000 when adjusted for inflation) and $19,800,000 respectively. Both found their value from their vintage car status, having been produced in the 1930s.
Sales Tracking
The research compiles the different sales into a chart showing the distribution of the sales – which shows a peak in the most expensive auction cars in recent years. The majority of the cars featuring in these sales were additionally produced around 1960 – though it also displays the Adam West Batmobile, which, while once sold for only $1, most recently reached $4,620,000 in 2013 when sold as a collector piece.
You can see more expensive cars and the details of their sales in the full infographic below and on the MoneySuperMarket site.
