1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale by Kellner – $9,654,000
When Bugatti envisioned this car, their plan was to make 25 of them, but they only made six. This one is one of the few to survive WWII, which is why it sold for almost $10 million was back in 1987. The wheelbase of Type 41 is huge at 15 feet. It houses a 12.7-liter engine, one of the largest produced V8s on record.
1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster – $9.9 Million
Sold in February 2016, in Arizona by Sotheby’s, this was the highest dollar sale in Arizona’s auction week event. The 540Ks fetch good returns with little effort from the buyer, other than buying low. In 2012, another 540K sold for $11.7 million. At one time, there were 419 of them, which sold in ’37 for around $13,000 in today’s money. Even in its day, the 540K was a car for the privileged. Under the hood, it packed a supercharged V8, but the body styling, with the recessed grill and sweeping lines, was a looker. We don’t build them like this anymore.