Market Intelligence
The Top 10 Most Expensive Cars at International Auctions in 2025
The 2025 auction season set historic records, with RM Sotheby’s dominating sales and delivering nine of the year’s ten most expensive cars.
2025 marked a new chapter in the history of major international auctions, confirming that the collector car market continues to reward unique pieces, legendary competition cars, and masterpieces of automotive engineering. From Paris to Monterey, via Abu Dhabi and Miami, the major auction houses recorded extraordinary results. Among the ten most expensive cars sold at auction during the year, the real stars were undoubtedly the experts at RM Sotheby's, who took center stage with nine out of ten cars sold under their hammer, confirming their increasingly solid leadership in the top-tier sales segment. Here is the ranking of the ten most expensive cars sold at auction in 2025.
__1 - 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, RM Sotheby’s, “W 196 R: The Monza Streamliner” Stuttgart, February 1, 2025__
Sold for €51,155,000 ($53,917,370), the W 196 R Streamliner became the most expensive racing car ever sold at auction. Designed for high-speed circuits such as Monza, it represents the technological pinnacle of Mercedes in the 1950s. Linked to the names of Fangio and Moss, it is one of the greatest legends of Formula 1. Read more here: 1954 Mercedes W 196 R Streamliner: The Last Record of a Dream Car
