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Most expensive British car ever sold goes for $22.5 million

By Ray Downs
The 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, described by Aston Martin enthusiasts as the best model the storied car manufacturer has ever produced, was sold for $22.5 million at Monterey Car Week on August 18. Photo by Sotheby's
The 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, described by Aston Martin enthusiasts as the best model the storied car manufacturer has ever produced, was sold for $22.5 million at Monterey Car Week on August 18. Photo by Sotheby's

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The most expensive British car ever sold exchanged hands for $22.5 million during an auction at Monterey Car Week in California on Friday.

The teal and white 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, described by Aston Martin enthusiasts as the best model the storied car manufacturer has ever produced, went to an unnamed buyer who called into the auction to place a bid, reported the Telegraph.

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Only five DBR1s were built between 1956 and 1958 and the design was developed by racing design chief Ted Cutting in order to be raced at Le Mans. This particular DBR1 had been driven by legendary race car drivers Sir Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman.

"The DBRI absolutely epitomizes the pinnacle of racing achievement for Aston Martin," said Aston Martin historian Stephen Archer in Sotheby's short film about the car. "The perfection of design, by a small highly talented team, there's nothing you can look at in the DBRI and say 'maybe they could have done that a bit differently.' No, it's actually perfect, everywhere on that car."

Before the $22.5 million sale of the DBR1, the most expensive British car ever sold was a 1956 Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-Type, which went for $21.7 million.

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The most expensive car in the world is a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, which was sold for $52 million in 2013.

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