The 5 cars on this list are all very rare and very expensive. The manufacturers of the cars listed here are well known for their high-performance, high-priced, high-end vehicles. But even companies like Lamborghini and Ferrari and Bugatti would not have regularly priced cars listed at the exorbitant amounts listed here. No, the cars that are truly the rarest and most expensive are the cars delegated to one-offs, limited editions, special issues, and rare finds.
Usually they’re commemorative cars, celebrating a car company’s 50th anniversary or something, or they’re cars that won a huge race back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, or they’re cars that were made popular after Steve McQueen drove them around in movies. What makes these cars expensive and rare might be different between each model, but there’s one common denominator—they’re all special for some reason.
Hopefully you won’t be disappointed by what you find here—it’s an equal mix of old and new, super cars and luxury cars. Here are 5 of the rarest cars in the world, and how much they cost.
1/5. 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO – $52 Million
The Ferrari 250 GTO was a race car produced between 1962 and 1964 for the FIA’s Group 3 Grand Touring Car category. The car was powered by a Tipo V12 engine. Only 39 of these cars were made: 33 with the 1962-63 bodywork (Series I), three with the 1964 bodywork (Series II), which was similar to the Ferrari 250 LM, and three “330 GTO” limited edition cars with larger engines. The GTO cost $18,000 at its onset in the United States, and buyers had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and his dealer. In 2012, the 1962 GTO made for Stirling Moss set an all-time record-selling price of $38,115,000. In October 2013, collector Paul Pappalardo sold chassis number 5111GT to an anonymous buyer for a new record of $52 million.
2/5. 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa – $39.8 Million
The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, or TR, is a race car that was built during the 1950s and ‘60s. The car was introduced at the end of the 1957 racing season in preparation of Le Mans and the new regulation that limited sports cars to just 3-liter engines. The 250TR, as you can tell by reading other entries on this list, absolutely dominated the competition when it was racing.
The car has won 10 World Sportscar Championships, three 24 Hours of Le Mans (1958, 1960, 1961), and more. The Aston Martin DBR1 is the only car that came close to beating it (and it did, on four separate occasions).
Only 34 Ferrari Testa Rossas were ever built, all of them between 1956 and 1961. “Testa Rossa” meant “red head,” in reference to its paint job. The most famous of these, the 250TR, were all built between 1957 and 1958, with only two factory models and 19 customer models being produced. It’s considered the second-most valuable Ferrari in existence, with valuations upwards of $8 million. Though one car sold at a 2011 auction for $16.4 million, a record at the time. And in 2014, another one sold for $39.8 million—indeed putting it as the second-most valuable Ferrari of all time, right behind our #1 holder…
3/5. 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 – $22.5 Million
The Aston Martin DBR1 was a race car built in 1956 and intended for the World Sportscar Championship. Its most famous victory on the track came at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was Aston Martin’s only outright victory at the endurance race. It’s one of only three cars to win both the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Sports Car Championship in the same year (the others were the Ferrari 375 Plus in 1954 and the Ferrari 250TR in 1958). It also won the Nurburgring, Le Mans, and Tourist Trophy all in 1959, matching the Ferrari 250TR’s record with its three consecutive wins in 1958.
The DBR1 won six World Sportscar Championships in the ‘50s, which was a record and remained a record until surpassed by the Ferrari 250TR. The car was fixed with a racing version of the Lagonda straight-six engine, in order to comply with the 24 Hours of Le Mans regulations. It was a 2.5-liter engine that clocked 250 hp. In August 2017, a DBR1/1 was sold for $22,555,000, which is a world-record price for a British-made car. Bloomberg has called the DBR1 the “most important Aston Martin ever made.” Only five of these purpose-built cars were ever made, according to the Telegraph.
4/5. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider – $17.16 Million
This beautiful car probably looks a bit familiar to a few readers, and that’s because a Ferrari 250 GT was the same car that was used in the ‘80s blockbuster, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” “Only 55 of these cars were ever made, making it one of the most sought-after Ferraris on the market,” says Shayrgo Bazari of CarSumo. The Ferrari 250 GT was built between 1953 and 1964, with many racing models built in between those years.
In 1959 Ferrari gave the 250 GT sharper handling and reduced its wheelbase to create the 250 GT California Spyder SWB. The car was showcased in Geneva in 1960. The revised Spyder also had disc brakes and a most powerful, 276-hp version of the 3-liter V12 engine of its predecessor. The car featured in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was a replica, fiberglass-bodied version of the 250 GT Spyder California. A 1961 SWB was sold by James Coburn to radio DJ Chris Evans for £5.5 million. Another ’61 SWB, a barn find that was used in the film “Les Felins” with Jane Fonda, sold for $15.9 million in 2015. And finally, on March 11, 2016, at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, a ’61 SWB was auctioned off for $17.16 million.
5/5. 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato – $14.3 Million
The Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato was unveiled at the 1960 London Motor Show as a lightened, improved version of the standard DB4 GT. It was improved at the Zagato factory in Italy, where the car was expected to have a run of 25 units, but ended up ceasing production on the 20th. The car has a popular history, which has resulted in two subsequent cars being named “Zagatos,” both based on the DB4. Zagato is one of the world’s most well-known coachbuilders. They’ve been around since 1919 and have designed some of the most memorable cars, including this one.
The car was powered by a 3.7-liter twin-spark straight-six engine that produced 314 hp, had a 0-60 acceleration time of 6.1 seconds, and a top speed of 154 mph. All of the steel components of the DB4 were replaced on this car with aluminum, making it smaller, more aerodynamic, and 100 pounds lighter. In 1988, four DB4s that were not being used were transformed again into the DB4 GT Zagato at Zagato’s Milan workshop. These four cars were called “Sanction II” versions, and they were built almost to the same specifications as the original 19. One of the originals recently sold at auction for $14.3 million.
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