Most gearheads have dreamed about owning some rare and precious classic car at some point. Whether it’s a limited production model or one of the few surviving examples of a model from the past, these classic cars have a certain allure.
Unfortunately, due to these cars’ age, rarity, and legend status, they are far out of reach to the average car enthusiast. Only multi-millionaires with the right connections have a chance of laying their hands on any of the classic automotive unicorns on this list.
Today, we’ll examine some of the world’s rarest and most expensive classic cars.
Bugatti Type 41 Royale Kellner Coupe
Bugatti built seven Type 41 Royales, but they only managed to sell three. That’s not a big surprise, considering a Type 41 Royale chassis alone cost £30,000, even less so since Bugatti built it during the Great Depression.
Bugatti intended to build 25 of these and marketed them almost exclusively to royalty. Ettore Bugatti crashed one of the seven they built, so only six exist now. The last time one sold at an auction was in 1987 for $9.7 million.
1970 Porsche 917K
The Porsche 917K marks the beginning of Porsche’s rise to Le Mans greatness. Porsche didn’t make any compromises when they built the 917 – it was built to win, and it achieved that goal.
Three 917s were converted for road use, and values are estimated at around $20 million. Steve McQueen famously drove a 917 in his movie “Le Mans,” a car that sold for $14 million in 2017, making it the most expensive Porsche ever.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL-1
Chevrolet only built two ZL-1 Corvettes – one painted yellow and one white – which makes them some of the rarest Corvettes ever. This Super Vette has a 427 V8 under the hood and officially sends 430 horsepower to the rear wheel. Many gearheads believe that number is a bit off and that the real power is between 500 and 550 horses.
Being some of the rarest and most powerful classic Corvettes means they come with some serious price tags. The white car was estimated to be worth more than $1 million a few years ago.
1948-1950 Aston Martin 2-Liter Sports DB1
The Aston Martin DB1 was the car that started the brand’s DB series. It was named after Sir David Brown, who took ownership of Aston Martin in 1947. As its name implies, it had a 2.0-liter engine under the hood, producing 90 horsepower – enough to give it a top speed of 93 mph.
Aston Martin only built the 2-liter Sports from 1948 to 1950. During that time, they assembled 15 DB1s. One of the cars won the 1948 Spa 24-hour race and spent the next few decades in Belgian and Dutch car museums. These days, it lives in the UK with its new owner.
1961 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider
Everybody who grew up in the 1980s knows the Ferrari 250 GT California as the car from the hit movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” However, the car they crashed in that movie was a replica – which is good, seeing as the real thing costs around $20 million now.
Ferrari only built about 55 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spiders, and it’s easily one of the most sought-after cars with a prancing horse emblem. It has a 3.0-liter V12 under the hood, producing 280 horsepower, which makes it a dream to drive – although most are just stored in exclusive collections.
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
Alfa Romeo only built 18 units of the 33 Stradale, and since they rarely come up for sale, it’s hard to estimate their value. Experts say they can sell for anywhere between $3 million to $10 million, or maybe more.
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous cars ever emerging from the Turin-based manufacturer. It had the power and speed to match its looks, as the 2.0-liter V8 produces 227 horsepower – plenty for a 1,543 lb car. Zero to 60 was done in 5.5 seconds, and the top speed was 160 mph.
1953 Porsche 550 Spyder
The Porsche 550 Spyder is most famous for being the car James Dean had a fatal crash in. Dean’s Porsche nicknamed Little Bastard, has since earned a reputation in modern folklore for being cursed.
Not all Porsche 550 Spyders are cursed, though. Some have taken home class wins at Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana races. Porsche only built 90 550 Spyders, and they’re among the most sought-after cars on the planet.
1964 Ford GT40
The Ford GT40 is another legendary race car that every gearhead has seen on the silver screen. The 1964 Ford GT40 was built to steal Ferrari’s thunder at Le Mans. It didn’t succeed then, but a couple of years later, the GT40 brought home the win in spectacular fashion.
Ford only built 31 Mk1 road cars, and they were essentially the same as the race cars, but with carpet, a cigarette lighter, wire wheels, and a couple of other things. One 1964 GT40 was sold at auction a decade ago and fetched nearly $7 million.
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
Ferrari only built 33 250 Testa Rossas, and that includes the 19 “customer versions” that went to independent race teams. That’s right, this wasn’t just one of the most beautiful cars money could buy; it was a competent race car, racking up wins worldwide.
An unrestored 250 Testa Rossa sold for almost $40 million in 2014, a record-breaking price back then.
Pegaso Z-102
Most people have never heard of the Pegaso Z-102, so you might be surprised to learn that it was the world’s fastest car in 1951, capable of a 151 mph top speed. Perhaps even more shocking is the fact that a Spanish bus and truck manufacturer built this Ferrari slayer.
The Pegaso Z-102 was built from 1951 to 1958, and the experts can’t agree on how many cars were built, but it’s either 71 or 84. Either way, they were built on a cost-no-object basis and should easily fetch over $1 million today.
Porsche Abarth 356B Carrera GTL
The 1960 Porsche Abarth 356B Carrera GTL is so rare that only the geekiest of Porsche nerds know about it. Abarth is best known for its work on fast Fiats, not for perfecting Stuttgart’s finest.
Porsche’s collaboration with Abarth resulted in 21 Porsche Abarth 356B Carrera GTLs. Experts believe they sold for roughly $6,500 in 1960. Today’s price is anyone’s guess, but they won’t be cheap.
1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
Zagato is a coachbuilder that improves existing high-end cars with new, hand-built bodies. They’ve been at it for longer than a century and have truly perfected this almost-forgotten art.
The Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato is one of their finest creations with its elegant curves and low weight. Zagato used aluminum and perspex components to save weight when they built it. They intended to build 25, but the demand wasn’t there, so only 19 were made. One sold for $14.3 million, and prices have probably increased since then.
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
Another Ferrari 250, this time in the shape of the GTO. The 250 GTO is one of the most successful Ferrari race cars of all time, and most car collectors view it as the holy grail of Ferraris.
Ferrari only built 39 of these from 1962 to 1964, and one reportedly sold for $70 million in 2018.
1970 Dodge Coronet R/T 426 Hemi Convertible
Dodge built 2,319 units of the 1970 Coronet R/T, of which 296 were convertibles. Only two of those convertibles were optioned with the 426 Hemi engine, making this one of the rarest muscle cars ever made.
Both these 1970 Coronet R/T 426 Hemi convertibles were fitted with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission and heavy-duty suspension. Prices for one of these rare beasts should be around $400,000 at a minimum.
1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
The Mercedes 300SL Gullwing is among the most beautiful cars to emerge from Germany. When it arrived on the market in 1955, it was packing technology never before seen in a road car.
In total, 3,258 were built, of which 1,400 were coupes, and 1,858 were roadsters. There’s also the super rare 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe. Only two of those were made, and one was sold for $142 million in 2022, making it the most expensive car ever sold.
Jaguar XKSS
The original Jaguar XKSS was a limited production model that rolled off the assembly line in 1957. Jaguar built 25 units of the XKSS, but nine were destroyed in a fire, leaving only 16.
In 2017, Jaguar built nine “continuation cars” to replace the ones lost in the fire. Each of them sold for more than $1.2 million and was built to the exact same spec as the original cars. The original XKSS was based on the D-Type race car, which won the Le Mans 24-hour race.
1956 Aston Martin DBR1
The DBR1 is the only Aston Martin to take home the Le Mans overall win, and it truly cemented the British carmaker as a genuine threat to Ferrari and Jaguar. Experts consider it the most important Aston Martin model ever.
In 2017, a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 was sold for close to $22.6 million at an auction, which made it the most expensive British car ever sold.
1954 Oldsmobile F-88
The F-88 isn’t your grandfather’s Oldsmobile, unless your grandfather happens to be a car-collecting millionaire. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that it looks a bit like the Chevy Corvette, and that’s because it’s built on the ‘Vette chassis. Like its more famous cousin, it also has a fiberglass body.
Officially, only one F-88 was built, but there are rumors that a second car was destroyed in a fire. John and Maureen Hendricks bought the Oldsmobile F-88 for $3.24 million at an auction, and it’s now on display at the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum.
1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
At first glance, the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 may not seem very special, but to muscle car enthusiasts, the ZL1 is a holy grail.
GM had banned Chevrolet from selling cars with engines larger than 400 cu in, yet they still built 69 Camaros with the all-aluminum 427 cu-in big-block engine. One of those cars, a restored example, sold for $770,000 at an auction in 2018.
1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake
Carroll Shelby built two very special Cobras in 1966. He kept one for himself and gave one to his friend Bill Cosby. Cosby was so terrified of the car that he returned it, and the next owner lost control and drove it off a cliff, straight into the Pacific Ocean.
Shelby’s car was based on the CSX 3015 S/C race car, and it was barely road-legal. In 2007, it was sold at an auction for $5 million.
Rolls-Royce 15 Hp
Charles Rolls and Henry Royce agreed in 1904 to produce four car models – one being the Rolls-Royce 15 hp. They only built six of them, and today only one exists.
As its name suggests, it had 15 horsepower, giving it a top speed of nearly 40 mph. It’s impossible to say what the 15 hp is worth today, but in 2007, a Rolls-Royce 10 hp sold for $4.3 million. That was the oldest Rolls-Royce in the world, but there were also three more 10 hp cars in existence – the 15 hp is unique.
Lamborghini Miura Jota
The Lamborghini Miura is one of the most stunning Italian cars ever, and many consider it the world’s first mid-engined supercar. The first Miuras emerged from the factory in 1966, and Lamborghini churned out more powerful versions in the following years. The Jota was undoubtedly the peak of the Miura.
It was a race-inspired one-off Miura featuring a 440-horsepower V12 engine. It was sold to a private collector who eventually crashed it.
1971 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible Hemi 426
Everyone wanted a Barracuda back in 1970, or so it seemed, as Plymouth sold 50,617 of them that year. The following year, however, they only shifted 16,159 units. Of those, only 108 were Hemi Cuda coupes, and they only sold 11 Hemi Cuda convertibles.
Two of the 11 convertibles came with a four-speed, and apparently, only one is a matching numbers car. That car sold for $3.5 million at an auction in 2014, which made it the most expensive Mopar ever.
1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Super Snake
Carroll Shelby took one 1967 Mustang Fastback and updated it to a GT500 using a 427 FE GT40 racing engine with 650 horsepower. This was the most extreme GT500 ever made, known as the “Super Snake.”
During a demonstration of Goodyear’s new Thunderbolt tires, Shelby took the Super Snake up to 170 mph. $5,000 was a substantial amount back then, so Shelby only made one car. Today, $5,000 won’t buy you a used Korean vehicle, let alone a Super Snake – it sold for $2.2 million at an auction in 2019.
