In order to give the final crown to the most expensive car in the world, we need to divide the class into new and used cars. There's a big disparity. The most expensive car you can buy now is Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) T.50s Niki Lauda, priced at $4.36 million.

The world's most expensive new car, GMA T.50s Niki Lauda, is priced at $4.3 million. Only 25 will be built.


But this exorbitant price is reduced by the 135 million euros (US$143 million) recently paid for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Rudolf Olnhout Coupe. Mercedes owned the car (one of two built), and it was sold to a private collector. The proceeds go to support the new Mercedes-Benz Fund, which will distribute funds to colleges to support students working on environmentally themed scientific projects that promote the future of engineering and decarbonization.

Let's take a look at these two cars in detail. Both support the current bull market in racing cars. GMA T.50S Niki Lauda is a track version of the GMA T.50S, from the man, Gordon Murray, who brought the McLaren F1 - considered by many to be the best supercar - into the world. The T.50S, with deliveries starting this year, is seen as a comeback for him. Under the hood instead of the BMW V12 in Formula 1, there is a four-litre Cosworth GMA V12 engine from scratch, with 654 hp and 344 lbs. torque (at 11,500 rpm). Estimated zero to 60 in 2.7 seconds.

The rear wheels are driven by a completely new six-speed manual transmission developed using Xtrac. The driver will be at the centre and passengers on both sides. (Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus also uses this arrangement for SCG 004S.) Only 100 will be built — each costing $3 million. The full offer was sold out within 48 hours of the premiere. There's not enough car for you? GMA has more.

The standard GMA T.50s, priced at $3 million is not the final version.


Niki Lauda's version of the T.50S aims to track. Lauda died in 2019, was an Austrian F1 driver and three-time world driver champion (1975, 1977, 1984). He drove both Ferrari and McLaren.

The Lauda car enjoys engine modifications, including titanium inlet and exhaust valves, ram air input, and a lightweight exhaust aperture. It's going to be loud. The pressure ratio was also raised to 15:1. In the process, the 725-horsepower engine, which can accelerate to a red line of 12,100 rpm, has lost 35 lbs of T.50S. The entire carbon fiber bodywork is lighter, and as a result the entire car weighs only 1,878 pounds. Ride height has been reduced and brake cooling has improved.

Only 25 Niki Laudas will be built and now priced at US$4.3 million, making it the most expensive new car to buy anywhere. The price does not appear to have deterred buyers - 15 had already been claimed by early 2021.

The star sign of all this is that custom-made creations from Rolls-Royce and other manufacturers also become very expensive, but this is on an individual basis.

At 33 Niki Laudas, car enthusiasts could have bought the 300 SLR instead. Benz has retained both SLRs in its Stuttgart-based collection for more than 50 years, and the RM Sotheby's may 5 auction remained very special. The company's superior result topped the previous $70 million reportedly paid in 2018 by WeatherTech founder David McNeil to buy the Ferrari 250 GTO in 1963.

Why is this car so special? The W196 benz is developed from the 300 SLR racer with a 2.5-liter and eight-liter engine. In 1955, Stirling Moss won the Mile Meglia 300 SLR. SLRs came in first, second and third in ireland's tourist cup race, and the first two places in Targa Florio.

Rudolf Olinhout and his unique Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. How is $143 million ?


Those victories won the World Sports Car Championship that year. But in Le Mans, an SLR camera shockingly hit the crowd, killing 84 people. This led to Mercedes withdrawing from the race.

Two of these SLRs were converted into road cars under the supervision of design chief Uhlenhaut, and one drove as a personal transportation of 180 miles per hour.

Visually, they have a lot in common with the 300 SL "Gullwing". Under the skin, they were hardly masked racers - albeit with an added silencer. Motor Trend tested the SLR and said it was impenetrable, and dealt with "centrifuge force laws with apparent contempt." It is not clear whether the car that has just been sold is the daily Uhlenhaut driver or the other driver.