{"id":2000110580,"date":"2026-04-30T16:10:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T14:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000110580"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:12:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T14:12:37","slug":"most-expensive-car-ever-sold-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/most-expensive-car-ever-sold-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Most expensive car ever sold (Photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This vehicle is one of only two prototypes ever created, essentially serving as a road-legal version of the legendary Mercedes-Benz W196 R. Its sale remains a landmark event not just for its price, but also for its purpose. Mercedes-Benz confirmed that proceeds from the auction would serve as seed capital for the beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship, a global initiative providing scholarships in environmental science for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the modern market, bespoke commissions from luxury manufacturers have reached similar levels of exclusivity and cost. The Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail, inspired by the Black Baccara rose, is estimated to cost over $30 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This vehicle is one of only two prototypes ever created, essentially serving as a road-legal version of the legendary Mercedes-Benz W196 R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, featuring an interior parquetry design made of 1,603 pieces of black sycamore veneer and a custom-integrated timepiece by Audemars Piguet. While it set the initial benchmark for the Coachbuild series, it has since been joined by the Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail, which reportedly reached a price of $31 million for a client in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The auction market continues to show strong momentum in 2026, particularly for historic Italian marques. In January 2026, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO known as the \u201cBianco Speciale\u201d (Chassis 3729GT) was sold at the Mecum Kissimmee auction for $38.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coup\u00e9 set the all-time record when it sold for approximately $143 million (approximately Rwf 208 billion) at a private auction held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This specific car holds the unique distinction of being the only 250 GTO ever finished in factory white. Although it did not surpass the $51.7 million record set by another 250 GTO in 2023, its sale reinforced the model\u2019s status as a premier investment asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The identity of the person who paid $143 million for the world\u2019s most expensive car remains officially undisclosed by Mercedes-Benz, which describes the buyer only as a “private collector.” However, within the elite car-collecting community, the winning bid was placed by Simon Kidston, a renowned British car broker and consultant, acting on behalf of an anonymous client. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intense rumours in the automotive press have frequently linked the purchase to Sir James Ratcliffe, the British billionaire and chairman of INEOS, who has a long-standing partnership with Mercedes-Benz and a known passion for rare engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, featuring an interior parquetry design made of 1,603 pieces of black sycamore veneer and a custom-integrated timepiece by Audemars Piguet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pinnacle of automotive value is currently defined by the rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coup\u00e9, which set the all-time record when it sold for approximately $143 million (approximately Rwf 208 billion) at a private auction held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000110585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[151],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000110580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","tag-editors-choice","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000110585,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1955_MercedesBenz_300SLRUhlenhautCoupe14.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1024,"height":768,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1955_MercedesBenz_300SLRUhlenhautCoupe14.jpg","width":150,"height":113},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1955_MercedesBenz_300SLRUhlenhautCoupe14.jpg","width":300,"height":225},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1955_MercedesBenz_300SLRUhlenhautCoupe14.jpg","width":768,"height":576},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1955_MercedesBenz_300SLRUhlenhautCoupe14.jpg","width":1024,"height":768},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1955_MercedesBenz_300SLRUhlenhautCoupe14.jpg","width":1024,"height":768}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000110580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000110580"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000110580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000110598,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000110580\/revisions\/2000110598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000110585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000110580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000110580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000110580"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000110580"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000110580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}