Stunning Aston Martin DBR1 breaks auction record

WHAT you see before you is the most expensive British car to ever be sold at auction.

It’s a 1965 Aston Martin DBR1 race car. Bearing the identifier of Chassis No. 1, it is the only DBR1 (of five in the world) to be offered for public sale.

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When it went under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s auction at Pebble Beach over the weekend, it was sold for a staggering US $22,5550,000 (A$28.4 million).

That incredible figure (more than the cost of some private jets) smashed the previous record holder for the most expensive British car sold at auction, a 1955 Jaguar D-Type which sold for US $21.8 million (A$27.5 million) last year.

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This car is specifically known as DBR1/1, and the auction house claims it is "the most correct example of what is arguably the most important Aston Martin ever produced."

The DBR1/1 was one of five cars which competed in the World Sportscar Championship from 1956 to ’59.

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This particular model wasn’t the first DBR1 to claim victory in a race, however it did win the 1959 Nurburgring 1000km event with Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman driving. A one Carroll Shelby was also a driver for the team.

The DBR1/1 wasn’t the only Aston that sold for big numbers at the Sotheby’s auction, with a 1959 DB4GT Prototype selling for US$ 6.7 million (A$8.5 million).

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The most expensive car ever sold at auction remains the Ferrari 250 GTO (serial No. 3851GT), which changed hands in 2014 for US $38.1 million (A$48.1 million). Adjusted for inflation that number grows to US $38.5 million (A$ 48.6 million).

The DBR1 now sits at seventh on the all-time list for most expensive cars sold at auction.

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