2022 is coming to a close, and what a year it has been for those who have had the opportunity to include some of the world's most expensive vehicles in their letter to Santa. With several statistics flooding in, we needed to know who the luckiest gearheads were this year. So, without further ado, here are the Top 5 most expensive cars that sold in 2022.
1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop Coupe
Starting from the bottom, we came across a name that may be unfamiliar to many car enthusiasts: Talbot-Lago. To be more specific, the Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop Coupe was simply known as the Goutte d'Eau at the time (a drop of water).
Talbot-Lago was a French manufacturer based on the outskirts of Paris that produced a wide variety of models, including race cars and luxury automobiles, and was owned and managed by Italian engineer Antonio Lago after acquiring Talbot's rights in 1936.
The Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop Coupe, designed by Figoni et Falaschi, would cause a sensation at the 1937 New York Auto Show, with its curves and proportions matching perfectly with New York's brand new Art Deco-inspired buildings, such as the Chrysler Building or the Empire State Building, which were brand new at the time of this exhibit.
This art-deco era classic was sold for an astounding £10,149,694 at Gooding & Co's Amelia Island Auction in Florida on March 4th, making headlines all over the world and taking the fifth spot on our list.
2003 Ferrari F2003 GA
The fourth car on our list is a car that helped cement Ferrari's Formula One dominance in the early 2000s. The Ferrari F2003 GA debuted at the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix, designed by Rory Byrne under the technical supervision of Ross Brawn.
Yes, the same Ross Brawn who bought Honda's F1 team in 2009 in order to win the World Formula One Championship with his legendary Brawn F1 Team. But, returning to Ferrari, this model was instrumental in Micheal Schumacher's sixth Formula One world championship, as well as Ferrari's victory in the Constructors Championship that same year.
This is the most expensive F1 racecar ever to be auctioned, selling for nearly 15 million dollars ($14,630,000) at an RM Sotheby's auction, nearly twice the seven and a-half million dollars ($7,504,000) paid back in 2017 for another Ferrari F1, the F2001, which contributed to the Scuderia's wins in 2001 and 2002, with none other than the legendary Micheal Schumacher at the wheel.
1955 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Sport Spider
Another prancing horse appears on our list at number three, the 1955 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Sport Spider, designed by Sergio Scaglietti. Few would guess the racing pedigree of this specific unit, one of only two 410 Sports to receive a finely tuned 4.9-liter V12 engine, based on its mint condition.
This racing-focused prancing horse was driven by none other than the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio at the Buenos Aires 1000 Km race in 1956, and later by the legendary Carrol Shelby between 1956-1957, during his most prolific racing season, which gave the American eight victories and ten podiums. Between 1956 and 1958, this Ferrari competed in 40 races, winning 11 and finishing on the podium 19 times.
This very special model fuel tank still bears Carrol Shelby's famous inscription, "Mr. Ferrari told me that this was the best Ferrari he ever built,"
A true racing relic, this car sold at nearly $22.5 million dollars ($22,427,149) at an RM Sotheby's Monterey auction in California.
1998 McLaren F1
The second spot on our list is taken by a machine that changed the automotive world, pointing the way into the new millennium - the 1998 McLaren F1. The F1 was produced from 1993 to 1998 and surprised the world by bringing cutting-edge engineering and performance never seen before. Its everyday usability was also revolutionary. The supercar, however, became famous for its three-seat cockpit, in which the driver sits alone at the front of the car.
This car was truly ahead of its time, holding the title of the world's fastest production car until 2005, long after it had been discontinued when its top speed of 386.7 km/h (240mph) was finally surpassed by a little-known car called the Koenigsegg CCR. The model shown here had only two owners and was one of 84 road-going F1s ever built, with only 26,393 kilometers on the clock. Sold by RM Sotheby's sealed bid for more than $25.5 million dollars. And if you think that's a ridiculous sum of money, wait until you see the first position on our list.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR ‘Uhlenhaut Coupe’
At the top of our list, we have a very special Mercedes-Benz, auctioned on May 5 at RM Sotheby's Uhlenhaut sale in Germany. And in this case, we must begin with the exorbitant price at which this car was sold - $139 million dollars! More than double the price paid for a 1962 Ferrari GTO, the most expensive car ever sold at the time, and five times the price paid for the McLaren F1 in second place.
Designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, thus this car’s nickname, this adaptation of the 1955 300 SLR racecar represents the very cutting edge of this decade’s racing engineering. At the time it hit the roads, this Coupe was the undisputed fastest road-legal car in the world, capable of touching the 290 km/h (180 mph) mark, something that is outstanding even by today’s standards. This specific example was always kept by Mercedes, and it was completely restored, top to bottom, by the racing specialist, Tony Merrick, in 1986.