1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti raced by Carroll Shelby sells for $22 million

You know a car is special — and extremely valuable, we might add — when names attached to its racing career include the likes of Carroll Shelby, Juan Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill and Enzo Ferrari. And so it comes as little surprise that the 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti you see above sold for $22,005,000 at last weekend’s RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey, California. That makes it the priciest vehicle sold at auction at this year’s Car Week festivities.

Shelby won eight races and finished on the podium 10 times behind the wheel of this Ferrari, and his inscription on the fuel tank, written years after his racing exploits, reads, “Mr. Ferrari told me that this was the best Ferrari he ever built.” That’s a mighty fine endorsement. Only two 410 Sport Spiders were built for racing by Ferrari with this car’s 24-spark-plug 4.9-liter V12 engine. According to the car’s auction listing, it is also “accompanied by the first (1956) and last (1958) trophies won by Shelby driving 0598 CM, along with the original 1957 Nassau racing license plate.”

All told, this 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti was entered in 40 races between 1956 and 1958, winning 11 of them and finishing on the podium 19 times. Beyond that, well, it’s stunningly beautiful to behold, too.