A 1957 Ferrari 335S Spider was sold at the Artcurial auction at the Retromobile event in France for $35.8 million (before fees), making it the second-most expensive car ever to sell at auction.
The car, driven by Sir Stirling Moss to victory in the 1958 Cuban Grand Prix (the race made famous for the pre-race kidnapping of Juan Manuel Fangio), is also famous for breaking the Le Mans 24 hour average speed record in its time, as well as the first to exceed 200kph average speed over the famous circuit.
The car was bought by French racing driver Pierre Bardinon in 1970 and remained part of the family’s staggering collection until this week, when it went under the hammer to settle a tax bill after Bardinon’s death.
The car sold for its record sum after being sold to an anonymous buyer at the Artcurial Cars auction at the Paris Retromobile show.
This beats the previous record for most expensive car ever sold, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta. This car was sold by Bonham’s at the pebble Beach auctions in California for 38.1 million US dollar (including all fees).
