WHAT you see before you is the most expensive British car to ever be sold at auction.
It’s a 1965 Aston Martin DBR1 race car. Bearing the identifier of Chassis No. 1, it is the only DBR1 (of five in the world) to be offered for public sale.
When it went under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s auction at Pebble Beach over the weekend, it was sold for a staggering US $22,5550,000 (A$28.4 million).
That incredible figure (more than the cost of some private jets) smashed the previous record holder for the most expensive British car sold at auction, a 1955 Jaguar D-Type which sold for US $21.8 million (A$27.5 million) last year.
This car is specifically known as DBR1/1, and the auction house claims it is "the most correct example of what is arguably the most important Aston Martin ever produced."
The DBR1/1 was one of five cars which competed in the World Sportscar Championship from 1956 to ’59.
This particular model wasn’t the first DBR1 to claim victory in a race, however it did win the 1959 Nurburgring 1000km event with Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman driving. A one Carroll Shelby was also a driver for the team.
The DBR1/1 wasn’t the only Aston that sold for big numbers at the Sotheby’s auction, with a 1959 DB4GT Prototype selling for US$ 6.7 million (A$8.5 million).
The most expensive car ever sold at auction remains the Ferrari 250 GTO (serial No. 3851GT), which changed hands in 2014 for US $38.1 million (A$48.1 million). Adjusted for inflation that number grows to US $38.5 million (A$ 48.6 million).
The DBR1 now sits at seventh on the all-time list for most expensive cars sold at auction.
