Bring a Trailer's 10 Most Expensive Auction Sales of 2023
Like Car and Driver, Bring a Trailer is part of Hearst Autos. Our colleagues at the auction site have gotten pretty good over the years at putting on a good sale, and you can count on finding some pretty incredible cars there. Don't tell Ed., but our staff love to pass time scrolling through the listings instead of doing our actual jobs. So, just as we did in 2022, we thought it would be a good idea to share our list of the most expensive BaT auctions of 2023. Patterns emerged, and a few storied icons worked their way onto the list. We hope you enjoy reminiscing as much as we did. We're looking forward to watching even more auctions and getting even less work done in 2024.
2019 Ford GT '68 Heritage Edition
Sold for: $1,256,000 on 1/23/23
When Ford brought the GT back to life in 2015, it started by only selling to customers who met certain criteria, chief among which was agreeing to actually drive the car. Ford didn't want its special project hidden away under lock and key for someone else's potential profit. The strategy seems to have failed with this particular GT, which has only amassed 10 miles in the four years of its life. Besides being an already rare Ford GT, this is one of 50 1968 Heritage Edition examples built in commemoration of the GT40 Mk1 race car that won the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans. We're hoping the new owner left some room in their bank account for gas money.
2019 McLaren Senna
Sold for: $1,286,000 on 5/22/23
A car with a name so big it had infinitely large shoes to fill—and yet the Senna managed to fill them. On top of being one for the history books, following a bizarre set of events at Lightning Lap 2019 the Senna is also a car that exists in the annals of Car and Driver test history. Four years later, and there hasn't been a production car within 2.0 seconds of the Senna on our Lightning Lap leaderboard. This Senna is number 108 of the 500 created to commemorate Ayrton Senna's legendary Formula 1 success with McLaren.
2021 Ford GT '66 Heritage Edition (14-Mile)
Sold for: $1,385,000 on 8/22/23
How much would you be willing to spend to drive two miles in a new Ford GT? 50? 100? 500? If this 14-mile 2021 Ford GT '66 Heritage Edition and the matching 12-mile edition two slots down are any indication, those two miles could cost you $66,000. Yep, this 14-mile car sold for $69,000 less than the car with only 12 miles on the clock. Seems like a lot to spend on bragging rights if you ask us.
1963 Ferrari GT 250 GTO Lusso
Sold for: $1,402,000 on 10/11/23
If you're looking for an icon, look no further than this 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso. According to the BaT listing, this 250 was the 32nd of 350 examples manufactured during the 18-month production run of the car. After being delivered to its first owner in Milan, Italy, the 250 made its way stateside where it was repainted in black and fitted with a 3.3-liter Colombo V-12 from a 1965 Ferrari 275GTB. There's no denying the beauty of the 250GT Lusso, and even with more than 50,000 miles on the car, it looks to be in immaculate condition. Our hats off to the previous and new owners of the car.
2021 Ford GT '66 Heritage Edition (12-Mile)
Sold for: $1,451,000 on 3/20/23
In addition to selling for $66,000 more than the '66 Heritage Edition above, this one sold a few months beforehand as well. Like the rest of the modern Ford GTs, this one is powered by a twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. In addition to all the standard equipment, the GT came with an ordering kit, build photos, a car cover, air duct covers, and a battery tender. The last will be important, as the odometer of this car likely won't be going much higher anytime soon.
1976 Porsche 934
Sold for: $1,550,000 on 8/11/23
It's not every day that a class-winning Le Mans race car appears for sale, but that did happen on Bring a Trailer earlier this year, and someone did walk away with this gorgeous 1976 Porsche 934 at the end of the auction. Following a successful campaign racing in Germany, the 934 was fitted with a replacement tub and entered into the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it managed a Group 4 GT class victory and seventh place overall. Introduced as Porsche's first turbocharged production-based race car, the 934 used the production 930 as a base. It added a front splitter, huge oil cooler, and intakes for air and brake cooling, while maintaining production pieces like the door panels and power windows to achieve the FIA weight requirement.
2019 Porsche 935
Sold for: $1,626,000 on 11/8/23
Feast your eyes on the raw beauty of this Porsche 935. This time around we're not talking about the original race car from the '70s, but instead a modern interpretation. This 2019 935 is the 49th of 77, built as a track-only, non-homologated homage to the original 935 racing platform as part of Porsche’s 70th-anniversary celebration. The slanted nose and long sloping roof are built from carbon-fiber composite bodywork and evoke thoughts of the original Le Mans–winning version. The twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six was factory rated at 700 horsepower at 7000 rpm and 553 pound-feet of torque. We think it was worth every bit of the $1.6 million winning bid.
2005 Porsche Carrera GT
Sold for: $1,781,420 on 11/30/23
Porsche fans love a low-mileage car, and with only 601 miles on the clock, this 2005 Carrera GT has that covered. Last year's list included a different Carrera GT with only 250 recorded miles—that car sold for $218,580 more than this year's car. Accounting for the mileage difference, this owner spent over $600 for each mile driven after the 250-mile mark.
2020 Ford Liquid Carbon GT on 3/12/23
Sold for: $1,791,000 on 3/12/23
Like tickets to Barbie or Oppenheimer, the Ford GT was in popular demand this year, and this 84-mile 2020 Liquid Carbon Ford GT drew more interest than any other GT. There are only 30 GTs equipped with the Liquid Carbon package, which brought the MSRP up roughly $250,000. A set of Voodoo Blue mirror caps match the blue-painted brake calipers. According to Bring a Trailer, the original window sticker in 2020 was $788,390. That's an appreciation of over $1 million or 227 percent over three years—in other terms, quite a bit more than your new Camry.
1967 Porsche 910
Sold for: $2,500,000 on 6/8/23
The crown jewel of BaT auctions this year, this 1967 Porsche 910 is one of 27 built, all in only one year of production. According to the listing, the car was kept by the factory race department as a development car until 1971. After entering private ownership, it was entered in multiple California SCCA events as well as the 1972 Watkins Glen 6 Hours and the 1973 24 Hours of Daytona, where it retired after 167 laps. The car was purchased last year by the selling dealer, who refreshed the 910 with a fresh coat of white paint as well as replacement side windows and tires. Power comes courtesy of a 2.0-liter Type 901/02 flat-six equipped with triple-throat Weber carburetors and twin-spark ignition.
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