News Source: autoblog.com

Wikipedia, Sports Car Market

Here's a Pro Tip for all you would-be classic car investors out there: buy Ferraris. With the Pebble Beach festivities kicking off this week, including any number high end car auctions, we thought it would be entertaining to compile a list of some to the most expensive cars ever sold with the bang of a gavel. Trouble is, once you get past the splendor of everyone's favorite Italian sports car maker, that list is pretty boring.

Ferrari dominates the all-time auction sales list; seven of the top ten most expensive cars sold wear the Cavallino Rampante badge, as well as more than half of the top fifty. Sure, a nearly $30-million Mercedes-Benz W196 racecar might be the new top dog as of last year, but it's even possible that Ferrari could take that title back in Monterey this weekend. Long story short: we think a list of the most expensive American cars ever sold at auction is a lot more entertaining to read. Hell, our list has a friggin' Batmobile on it, how can it go wrong?

Follow on below for the top ten cars that are red, white, blue and a whole lot of green.

11. 1966 Gurney Eagle Mk1-Weslake – $3,740,000

The cheapest car on our most expensive car list is both American and a Formula One racer – total bargain. When racing legend Dan Gurney set out to build an American presence in Europe's premier series, this V12-powered, mid-engine, open-wheel car was his steed. The Eagle Mk1 scored just one championship victory, at the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix with Gurney at the wheel, but the Yankee foray into F1 sparked imaginations for decades to come.

In what you'll see to be a trend as you continue to read, the Mk1 took advantage of the recent, red-hot classics market to ring up the $3.74M sale price at last years Gooding & Company auction at Pebble Beach.

10. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 – $3,850,000

Any celebration of American classic cars wouldn't be complete without a Corvette, and it was a sterling example of the model that drew a $3.85M at Barrett-Jackson in Arizona this past January. The "L88" order code translated to 427-cubic-inch, big-block V8 power, with a true output rating of more than 500 horsepower and a thirst for 103-octane fuel. Chevy only sold 20 L88 'Vettes in 1967, driving up the value of this red-and-black stunner to record-setting levels (still the highest price paid for a Corvette on record).

9. 1935 Duesenberg SJ Speedster "Mormon Meteor" – $4,455,000

The priciest Duesenberg on a list that contains a few of them, the 1935 "Mormon Meteor" (great name) was one of two to wear the cognomen, and also a car that set two land speed records in 1935. Originally powered by a V12 aircraft engine when it obtained the one-hour speed record of 153.97 miles per hour and the 24-hour record of 135.57 mph (both at a circuit at the Bonneville Salt Flats), the Meteor was converted to stock Duesy spec in 1938, and sold in 2004 in a similar street trim for the record price. Thankfully, the new owner had the Meteor restored to its former racing glory, winning the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance for his trouble.