25 of the Rarest Cars in the World (and How Much They Cost)

Search for the rarest cars in the world and you will find one-offs, homologation specials, coachbuilt prototypes and tiny production runs. Some of these cars have public auction records. Many do not. This refresh of RareCars.com's guide keeps the 25-car format, replaces unsourced "2025 estimates" with documented production figures and sale or launch prices, and points you to related cars that are actually for sale on RareCars.com today.

None of the ultra-rare headline cars below is currently listed on RareCars.com. Where we show a RareCars.com dollar figure, it is the live asking price of a related car on the site, not a claim about what a Uhlenhaut Coupé or 250 GTO would cost here.

How we count rarity

Rarity here means how many examples the manufacturer (or a manufacturer-backed heritage page) says were built, with auction or launch prices used only when a public record exists.

1. Prefer the maker's number. Ferrari's own 250 GTO page says a production run of thirty-six cars (source 1). Koenigsegg's Trevita page says a run of just two examples (source 16). Porsche Newsroom puts 959 series production at 292 and the Sport version at 29 (source 19).
2. Say when counts disagree. Hagerty notes that three 4.0-litre "330 GTO" cars sometimes get folded into 250 GTO totals; Ferrari treats the production run as 36 (sources 1 and 2). Toyota UK counts 351 Toyota 2000GTs built and 337 sold as road cars (source 23).
3. Price = a documented sale or launch price, not a guess. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé sold for €135 million at RM Sotheby's in May 2022 (source 3). A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4 million at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2018 (source 4). When we could not find a public sale, we say so instead of inventing a 2025 "estimate."
4. Road cars and track-only cars are labeled. The Maserati MC12 Versione Corse was built for private track use and was not road-legal (source 20).

This is a guide to scarcity and public records, not investment advice and not an appraisal.

The 25 rarest cars (production first, price when documented)

Ordered roughly by how hard they are to replace — one-offs and two-offs first — then by well-documented low production. Dollar figures are not RareCars.com asking prices unless the sentence says so.

1. Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR "Uhlenhaut Coupé" — 2 built

Mercedes-Benz built two 300 SLR coupés in 1955. One sold at an RM Sotheby's sale held with Mercedes-Benz on May 5, 2022, for €135 million, still the highest price paid for a car at auction (source 3). The other remains with Mercedes-Benz.

2. Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic — 4 built

Bugatti's own newsroom states that only four Type 57 SC Atlantic coupés were created between 1936 and 1938, and that three survive (source 5). No recent public auction sale of a surviving Atlantic was found for this refresh. Bugatti has described expert estimates above €100 million if one changed hands (source 5) — that is an estimate, not a hammer price.

Browse a modern Bugatti for sale on RareCars.com (a 2008 Veyron is listed; unpriced as of Oct 29, 2026).

3. Ferrari 250 GTO — 36 built (1962–1964)

Ferrari states a production run of thirty-six 250 GTOs (source 1). A 1962 example sold for $48.4 million at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2018 (source 4). Hagerty notes three additional 4.0-litre cars sometimes counted separately from the 36 (source 2).

Related, not a GTO: Ferraris for sale on RareCars.com, including a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC at $398,500 and a 1973 Ferrari Dino at $795,000 (asking prices as of Oct 29, 2026).

4. Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina — 1 built

Ultimatecarpage lists numbers built as 1 for the 2006 P4/5 by Pininfarina, a one-off rebodied Enzo (source 8). No public sale record was found for this refresh; no dollar figure is quoted here.

5. Jaguar XJ13 — 1 built

Jaguar built a single mid-engine XJ13 Le Mans prototype. It never raced as intended and was later rebuilt after a crash. No public sale record was found; no dollar figure is quoted here. See Jaguars for sale on RareCars.com, including E-Types.

6. Bugatti La Voiture Noire — 1 built

Bugatti presented La Voiture Noire as a one-off anniversary car. Contemporary coverage put the pre-tax price at €11 million (about $12.5 million at announcement), with tax-inclusive figures near $19 million reported by major wire services (sources 10 and 11).

7. McLaren F1 LM — 5 customer cars (+ factory prototype)

McLaren's archived production summary lists five F1 LM road cars built to mark the 1995 Le Mans result, separate from the wider F1 family (source 12). Public sale prices vary by chassis and are sparse; this refresh does not invent a 2025 estimate. (No McLaren hub is live on RareCars.com as of this draft.)

8. Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita — 2 built

Koenigsegg's model page describes an exclusive run of just two Trevita examples with the maker's diamond-weave carbon body (source 16). No recent public auction result is cited here.

9. Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake — 2 original cars

Period coverage and Barrett-Jackson lot notes describe two original 427 Cobra Super Snakes; one was later destroyed, leaving a single survivor. That survivor sold for $5.1 million at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale (sources 17 and 18).

Related: Shelby cars for sale on RareCars.com, including a 1967 Shelby GT350 at $249,950 (asking price as of Oct 29, 2026).

10. Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta — 3 built

Contemporary reports at launch put production at three cars and the price at €15 million each (source 9). (No Pagani hub is live on RareCars.com as of this draft.)

11. Aston Martin DBR1 — 5 built

Aston Martin and period race histories put DBR1 production at five cars. Chassis DBR1/1 sold for $22.55 million at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2017, a record for a British car at auction at the time (sources 6 and 7).

See Aston Martins for sale on RareCars.com.

12. Rolls-Royce Boat Tail — 3 coachbuilt cars

Rolls-Royce announced a three-car Boat Tail coachbuild series. The company has not published an official retail price. Forbes reported an estimated price of around £20 million ($28 million) at launch and noted the maker would not confirm the figure (source 14). That is a press estimate, not a factory price list.

Related: Rolls-Royce cars for sale on RareCars.com, including a 1930 Phantom I at $420,000 and a 2011 Ghost at $127,900 (asking prices as of Oct 29, 2026).

13. Lamborghini Veneno Roadster — 9 built

Lamborghini’s October 2013 launch release confirmed nine Veneno Roadsters for 2014 production, sold at €3.3 million each excluding tax (source 13). That is the manufacturer launch price, not a later street estimate.

The Veneno's lineage runs back to the Miura, the mid-engined Lamborghini that set the template in 1966. Lamborghini's own history page lists 265 P400 cars (1966–1968), 338 Miura S (1969–1971) and 150 Miura SV (1971–1973), plus a handful of specials (source 30). Lamborghini's archive gives the P400 as 275, so totals of roughly 750 to 760 appear depending on the source.

Related: Lamborghinis for sale on RareCars.com.

14. Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale — 18 chassis (1967–1969)

Hagerty's history of the original 33 Stradale describes 18 chassis in the program, including prototypes and chassis later used for show cars, with a smaller number completed as Stradale road cars (source 15). No public auction-house lot for an original 33 Stradale was found for this refresh, so no sale price is quoted here.

Related: Alfa Romeos for sale on RareCars.com, including a 1958 Giulietta Veloce Spider at $138,500 (asking price as of Oct 29, 2026).

15. Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B — low-30s production

Pre-war 8C 2900B production is usually counted in the low thirties depending on body and year split (source 21). A 1939 8C 2900B Lungo Spider by Touring sold for $19.8 million at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2016 (source 21).

16. Jaguar D-Type — 75 original period cars

Jaguar Land Rover Classic materials put original D-Type production at 75 cars in period, with later continuation cars built separately (source 22). Race-history cars bring the highest prices when they appear; this refresh does not invent a single 2025 number.

17. Jaguar XKSS — 16 original cars (1957)

Jaguar states that 16 XKSS cars were completed in 1957 before a factory fire ended the run; nine continuation cars were built much later (source 25).

18. Ferrari 250 LM — 32 built

Ferrari materials put 250 LM production at 32 cars (source 24). Documented auction results for race-history cars run well into eight figures when they appear; quote the specific lot when citing a price.

19. Ford GT40 prototypes — 12 built (GT/101–GT/112)

Hagerty puts original GT40 development prototypes at 12 cars (chassis GT/101 through GT/112), built by Ford Advanced Vehicles in 1964–1965 before the wider production run (source 29). Five of those twelve were open roadsters. Separate production (P/), Mk III and J-car sequences sit outside this prototype count. See Fords for sale on RareCars.com.

20. Maserati MC12 Versione Corse — 13 built (1 prototype + 12 customer)

Maserati states that 13 Versione Corse cars were built: one prototype and 12 customer track cars, not road-legal (source 20). See Maseratis for sale on RareCars.com.

21. Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 — 63 coupés + 19 roadsters

Lamborghini limited the Sián coupé to 63 cars and the roadster to 19, numbers that reference the brand's 1963 founding year (source 26). All were sold from new.

22. Porsche 959 Sport — 29 built

Porsche Newsroom: 292 series-production 959s, of which 29 were the lighter Sport (959 S) version (source 19).

Related reading on RareCars.com: Porsche 993 production numbers. Browse Porsches for sale.

23. BMW 507 — about 252 production cars (1956–1959)

Collector references commonly put 507 production near 252 cars across Series I and II (source 27). Exact prototype-versus-production splits vary by source; BMW Group Classic materials are in the same low-250s range. See BMWs for sale on RareCars.com.

24. Toyota 2000GT — 351 built / 337 road cars

Toyota UK: by the end of production in 1970, 351 units had been produced, 337 of them sold as road cars (source 23). See Toyotas for sale on RareCars.com.

25. De Tomaso Vallelunga — about 53 cars

De Tomaso's legacy page says the company committed to a production run of approximately 53 Vallelungas, the maker's first road car (source 28). Public sale prices sit far below the hypercar names above; verify each chassis and body (Ghia fiberglass vs earlier alloy prototypes) before treating any asking price as comparable.

Related rare cars for sale on RareCars.com

The cars in the list above almost never appear on a multi-dealer marketplace. What you can browse on RareCars.com today (counts and sample asking prices as of Oct 29, 2026):

1. Ferrari — 34 listings; sample asks include the 330 GTC at $398,500 and Dino at $795,000.
2. Porsche — 48 listings; see also the 993 production guide.
3. Jaguar / E-Type — E-Type asks include $105,000 and $99,995.
4. Lamborghini, Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Shelby, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati, Lotus, BMW, Ford, Chevrolet Corvette.

Selling something scarce? Start at Sell on RareCars.com. Looking for a dealer? Use dealers near you.

FAQ

What is the rarest car in the world?

It depends how you count. Strict one-offs such as the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina or Jaguar XJ13 sit at one example. Among cars with a public sale, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé (two built; one sold for €135 million in 2022) currently holds the auction record (sources 3 and 8).

How many Ferrari 250 GTOs were made?

Ferrari's own materials say thirty-six cars for the 1962–1964 production run (source 1). Some writers add three 4.0-litre cars; Hagerty explains that split (source 2).

Why did this list drop the Lotus 49 and Honda NSX-R GT?

The Lotus 49 is an open-wheel Formula 1 car with chassis counts that do not map cleanly to a single "production" figure. The Honda NSX-R GT five-car claim could not be confirmed on a Honda manufacturer page for this refresh. They were replaced by the Ferrari 250 LM (32, Ferrari) and Jaguar XKSS (16 original, Jaguar).

Are any of these 25 for sale on RareCars.com right now?

Not the headline ultra-rare cars. Related Ferraris, Jaguars, Lamborghinis, Bugattis, Rolls-Royces and others are listed — see the links above. Asking prices shown for those cars are live RareCars.com figures as of Oct 29, 2026.

Does a low production number always mean a high price?

No. Condition, provenance, race history, paperwork and whether the car is road-legal all matter. The De Tomaso Vallelunga (~53 built) and a one-off hypercar are both "rare" and sit in completely different markets.

Where should I start if I want a rare classic I can actually buy?

Pick the marque first, then read the listing paperwork. On RareCars.com, start with Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar E-Type or Shelby, and compare live asking prices rather than auction headlines.

Sources

1. Ferrari — 250 GTO past-model page: production run of thirty-six cars. https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/250-gto
2. Hagerty — 250 GTO model overview / market notes (36 built; three 330 GTO cars sometimes counted separately). https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/Ferrari/250_GTO/1964/1964-Ferrari-250_GTO-SII and https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-insider/what-sets-the-ferrari-250-gto-apart/
3. RM Sotheby's press release — 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé sold for €135,000,000 (May 2022); two prototypes. https://rmsothebys.com/media-center/press-releases/rm-sotheby-s-announces-the-sale-of-the-most-valuable-car-in-the-world-the-1955-mercedes-benz-300-slr-uhlenhaut-coup%C3%A9-is-sold-for-135-000-000/
4. RM Sotheby's press release — 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4 million (Monterey 2018). https://rmsothebys.com/media-center/press-releases/the-most-valuable-car-ever-sold-at-auction-rm-sotheby-s-sells-1962-ferrari-250-gto-for-484-million/
5. Bugatti Newsroom — Type 57 SC Atlantic: four built (1936–1938); three survive; estimate commentary. https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/bugatti-type-57-sc-atlantic-a-style-icon
6. RM Sotheby's press release — Aston Martin DBR1/1 sold for $22.55 million (Monterey 2017). https://rmsothebys.com/media-center/press-releases/226-million-aston-martin-dbr11-sets-record-for-british-automobile-at-rm-sotheby-s-monterey-sale/
7. Aston Martin — DBR1 heritage notes (five cars). https://www.astonmartin.com/en/our-world/news/2018/7/19/dbr1
8. Ultimatecarpage — Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina, numbers built: 1. https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/2830/Ferrari-P4-5-by-Pininfarina.html
9. Top Gear / contemporary launch coverage — Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta: three cars, €15 million. https://www.topgear.com/car-news/goodwood-festival-speed-2018/paganis-wild-zonda-hp-barchetta-costs-eu15m
10. Bugatti Newsroom — La Voiture Noire one-off. https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/bugatti-la-voiture-noire-a-one-off-car-for-the-anniversary
11. AP News / CNN Business — La Voiture Noire ~$19 million tax-inclusive reporting; €11 million before tax. https://apnews.com/article/ef66881b02434f56b63bdf938dbba72a
12. McLaren Automotive archived production summary — five F1 LM customer cars. https://web.archive.org/web/20070213011041/http:/www.mclarenautomotive.com/cars/f1_production.htm
13. Lamborghini press release (via Autoblog, Oct 19, 2013) — Veneno Roadster: not more than nine units; sold at 3.3 million Euros excl. tax. https://www.autoblog.com/news/lamborghini-veneno-roadster-official
14. Forbes — Rolls-Royce Boat Tail: three-car coachbuild; estimated ~£20m ($28m) at launch; maker would not confirm. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nargessbanks/2021/05/27/this-is-the-design-story-behind-rolls-royces-custom-built-boat-tail/
15. Hagerty — Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale history (18 chassis in program). https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/alfas-original-33-stradale-had-a-rough-ride-from-race-car-to-design-star/
16. Koenigsegg — CCXR Trevita model page: run of just two examples. https://www.koenigsegg.com/model/ccxr-trevita
17. Barrett-Jackson / Road & Track — original 427 Cobra Super Snake: two built; $5.1 million sale of the survivor. https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/news/a24808/the-last-shelby-cobra-427-super-snake-sells-for-51-m/
18. Barrett-Jackson docket notes — 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake. https://www.barrett-jackson.com/scottsdale-2015/docket/vehicle/1966-shelby-cobra-427-super-snake-178567
19. Porsche Newsroom — 959 series production 292; Sport version 29. https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2022/history/porsche-classic-959-s-factory-restoration-nick-heidfeld-28934.html
20. Maserati — MC12 Versione Corse: 13 built (1 prototype + 12 customer); track-only. https://www.maserati.com/global/en/brand/maserati-classic-cars/post-war-racing-cars/mc12-versione-corse
21. RM Sotheby's — 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider by Touring, Monterey 2016 result ($19.8 million) and production context. https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo16/lots/r208-1939-alfa-romeo-8c-2900b-lungo-spider-by-touring/
22. Jaguar Land Rover Classic / Jaguar media — D-Type period production (75) and continuation program. https://www.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/continuation/jaguar-d-type
23. Toyota UK magazine — 2000GT: 351 produced, 337 road cars. https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-2000gt-history/
24. Ferrari magazine / model materials — 250 LM production of 32. https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/magazine/articles/1965-Le-Mans-winner-returns-to-Fiorano
25. Jaguar Land Rover media — XKSS: 16 original 1957 cars; later continuations. https://media.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2016/11/new-original-jaguar-xkss-makes-world-debut-los-angeles
26. Lamborghini news / Motor1 production reporting — Sián 63 coupés and 19 roadsters. https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/news/have-a-look-at-the-first-sian-models-delivered-worldwide
27. Hagerty / BMW 507 collector references — ~252 production cars. https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-insider/the-bmw-507-shows-how-commercial-miss-can-influence-collector-car-success/
28. De Tomaso Automobili — Vallelunga legacy page: production run of approximately 53 cars. https://www.detomaso-automobili.com/legacy-models/vallelunga
29. Hagerty — Ford GT40 / GT development prototypes: 12 cars (GT/101–GT/112), 1964–1965; five roadsters. https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/le-mans-raced-ford-gt-competition-protoype-roadster-auction-preview/ and https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/heres-your-chance-to-binge-buy-all-3-generations-of-ford-gt/
30. Lamborghini — Miura history: 265 P400 (1966–68), 338 P400 S (1969–71), 150 SV (1971–73). https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/history/miura