Top track-only supercars

For those with money to burn a track only version of a supercar is the ultimate expression of automotive decadence. McLaren P1 GTR. McLaren’s 3.8-litre engine and race ready components are exploited to their upmost in the P1 GTR. 1,000bhp on tap insures all a gentleman driver can handle.

McLaren-Mercedes SLR 722 GT. The car is a grand tourer jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive and sold from 2003 to 2010. When the car was developed, Mercedes-Benz owned 40 percent of the McLaren Group. The 722 GT appeared in 2007.

Pagani Zonda R. The car debuted at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, using the 6.0-litre M120 V12 engine sourced from the racing version of the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR. 15 examples were made.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. The car debuted at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and isn't as hard core as others. With a 562bhp engine borrowed from the Gallardo Superleggera, and a weight of just 999kg, it’s no beach ball. It’s rare, with 20 built.

Ferrari FXX K. The FXX K combines the legendary Ferrari V12 with an F1-style electric motor system for a grand total of 1,036bhp. It will hit 60mph from a standstill in two and a half seconds on to a 220mph barrier for those with enough bravery to try. 40 ultra-rich owners get special stroking through Ferrari’s special XX track day program.

Ferrari spider collection on the block

Gooding & Company will be offering six Ferrari Spiders in January, with an estimated value around $6.8m. A nifty 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider is estimated at $2m to $2.4m.A 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Cabriolet is expected to fetch around $1.4m.

Top dog is expected to be the essential component in any serious Ferrari collection, a 1995 Ferrari F50. In testimony to it's hallowed status the estimate is $3.2m to $3.6m.

The Corvette C8 - working man's supercar

The Corvette has long been a sports car highly worthy of desire. The C7 was the best bona fide performance deal on earth. But with the C8, Chevrolet is rocketing into supercar territory. The definition of a supercar usually include high horsepower, serious acceleration, a frightening top speed, exotic appearance, low availability and a stupid high price. So is the C8 a supercar? Yes and no. The C8 is not exotic and is highly available.

Numbers do the talking. The gem quality 6.2-liter LT2 V8 pushes 490 horsepower with 465 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 comes in under 3 seconds with a 194 mph top speed. Time around the Nurburgring is a blistering 7:28.30. Base price is under $60k. (not a misprint) This vaults the C8 into supercar killer territory. You get ALL the juice for a fraction of the price. The Acura? $157,500. McLaren? $210,000. Lamborghini? $261,000. Ferrari? $300,000+.

1962 GTO at center of legal battle

The Ferrari GTO is widely considered the Holy Grail in collectible cars. 36 were built. In October 2017, lawyer Bernard Carl sold his blue 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO to Gregor Fisken for $44 million. Now they are in a $500k legal battle over the car’s gearbox. Part of the legend of Ferrari GTOs is racing history. This GTO has a sterling racing pedigree.

Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien drove the Ferrari during the 12 Hours of Sebring and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans the next year. As a race car, parts were often swapped out to maximize success on the track. This is why the vehicle’s original gearbox was removed and not put back in.

Fisken says he bought the Ferrari knowing it didn’t have its original gearbox, but on the understanding that Carl would eventually give it to him. That didn’t happen. Ironically, Fisken doesn't own the car any more, as he sold it at an undisclosed price.

2019 BMW 8-Series Convertible

The 2019 BMW 8-Series Convertible packs a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of twist. An eight-speed automatic shuffles the power front and back, as necessary.

The 8 Series reaches 60 mph in a swift 3.8 seconds.

Performance numbers are particularly impressive for the convertible as the car weighs an SUV-like 4,736 pounds.

First examples rolled into dealers in the US in March at a rock bottom base of $121,400.

RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi

40 blue-chip collector cars crossed the block at RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi, generating total sales of $31.3m. Top lot was a one-off 2017 Pagani Zonda Aether. It made $6.8m. Michael Schumacher’s championship-winning 2002 Ferrari F2002 made $6.64m. A 2015 Ferrari FXX K, the first of its kind offered at auction, sold for $4.2m.

A 1990 Ferrari F40 joins a Lamborghini Series I LP400S Countach.

Rare and desirable is an Aston Martin One-77. 77 were made in 2009, but there's only 76 left now as one was recently written off in a crash in Hong Kong. It rolls with a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis housing a 750-horsepower 7.3-liter V12. The car made $1.4m.

A Pagani Zonda Aether. One of the last made. It's powered by a AMG 7.3-liter V12 engine making 760 horsepower. This one-off is based loosely on the one-of-five Zonda Cinque Roadsters. Estimate was $4.5 to $5.5 million.

Only 80 Diablo GTs were made after it launched in 1999. Essentially, it's a road-legal version of the Diablo race car. Just under $300,000 when new, a low mileage, show worthy example recently made $950k. A limited-production, V-12 supercar with a manual gearbox seems like a sure investment. This example failed to change hands.

1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

1 of 1,285 produced in 1960. Frame-on restoration to correct specs completed within the last year. Finished in original code 99 Heather Metallic with code 12B Gray leather interior. Tri-Power 390/345 HP V-8 engine. Hydraulic valve lifters. Hydra-Matic transmission. Power steering. Power brakes. Bucket seats. White convertible top. Factory air conditioning. Power windows. Cruise control.

The equipment list included everything Cadillac could offer in comfort, convenience, and style for 1960. Price was a jaw dropping $7,750, the most expensive car built by GM. The 19 foot-long, 5,058 pound Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible makes an undeniable statement.

The Cadillac Eldorado was manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 to 2002 over ten generations. The Eldorado Biarritz represents an age of glamour for America, and 1960 represents the pinnacle in its era.

This example made $121k in May 2019.

Most unloved car in the world - John Cena's Ford GT - Update

The cursed GT of John Cena is up for sale yet again, it's sixth. (8 if counting pulled sales) 635 miles on the clock and the car has managed to lose value with every sale. Low estimate is a bullish $ 1.2m. (A Ford GT recently made $900k) Cena’s 2017 GT is headed to Mecum Auction’s, set to change hands for the eighth time since Cena originally took delivery in September 2017. That despite the fact that Ford bars original owners from reselling the car within their first two years of owning it.

Cena’s former GT has gone through a lot of drama, including the two lawsuits over its resale. Ford sued Cena and a dealer the car went through after he sold it, and both lawsuits were later settled while the car started jumping across the auction block on regular intervals. Cena had sold it on Oct. 20 of that year with almost no miles on the clock. It went from there to a private owner, who put nearly 600 miles on it.

The GT then went back to the dealer, to auction with 625 miles on the odometer, and across the block for $1.4m in August 2018. It was listed again the next month for Mecum’s Dallas auction with 626 miles on it, where it sold for $1.3m. Just a few months later, this now-removed listing came, and Motor Authority reports that it had the car listed at 635 miles on it—just 10 more than it had more than half a year ago.

1971 Hemi Cuda convertible - $3.5m

The 1970 Plymouth Barracuda and Cuda were selling well in that year with 50,617 cars sold. Buyers went AWOL in 1971, when Chrysler sold just 16,159. Of those, 108 were Hemi Cuda coupes and 11 were Hemi Cuda convertibles. Only two of the convertibles were sold with 4-speeds. This blue car is one of the them. In 2014 it became the most expensive Mopar ever sold at auction when it made $3.5m.

The car was restored in 2000. Once owned by Broom Hilda cartoonist Russell Meyers, it was sold to its next owner for $250,000. It was later confiscated in a drug raid and subsequently sold at auction for $405,000.

Writers of the time made comments. “There is nothing politically correct, nothing socially responsible about a Hemi ‘Cuda. The 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible is wretched excess in a nearly unimaginably limited production package.” It is the ultimate portrayal of the ultimate muscle car. Original list price‎ was ‎$4,348.

‘World’s best Packard’ - $3.7m

A rare and exquisite Dietrich-bodied 1934 Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible Victoria, which won Best of Show at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, returned to the Monterey Peninsula for RM Sotheby’s flagship auction held August 24-25 2018 at Monterey. It is one of 4 survivors and carried an estimate of $4.5m to $6m.

The car was powered by Packard’s 473-ci V12. The body was built by Dietrich and featured rear-hinged or “suicide” doors.

The well-known Packard Twelve made $3.7m. That price may be a bargain. Gooding & Company, at their August 2015 sale in Pebble Beach, sold an 1108 sedan for $3.6m (SCM# 266315), and earlier in 2015, RM Auctions sold an 1108 coupe for $4.1m. This is a more desirable Packard than those two cars.