In this internet car-buying era of Bring-a-Trailer, Cars and Bids, and others, high-dollar car sales aren’t as impressive as they used to be. Six and seven-figure cars seem to be changing hands constantly. However, Supercar Blondie’s new auction site SBX Cars just set a new benchmark for ridiculousness. A 2015 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster just sold on the platform for $6 million, breaking the record for online auction car prices.
That’s $6 million plus fees, by the way, which the auction house is declining to disclose. But for a sale this size, even a small percentage would be many thousands. Plus of course, the buyer’s going to have to pay taxes, title, and registration fees … at least, if it ever gets license plated. It may well be heading to somebody’s private museum. SBX could not divulge anything about the transacting parties either, though seller “WFG21” clearly has an inventory of super-elite automobiles.
SBX Cars seems to be leapfrogging some other established online auction sites in average transaction prices, listing exclusively super-expensive vehicles. And it’s not just limited to cars … are you in the market for a futuristic party boat or a drivable robot?
Before this Veneno Roadster tempted someone enough to drop a $6 million bid, the priciest online auction car sale was a 2017 Ferrar LaFerrari Aperta, which sold for $5,360,000. So this Lambo broke the record by almost $700,000. It also means that the Veneno suddenly jumped quite a bit in perceived value in recent years. In 2020, this very car was listed at auction and failed to sell, with a then-estimated selling price of $4.8 million.
What makes the Veneno Roadster so special that someone was literally willing to break an auction record to have it? For starters, it’s super rare. Only nine Veneno Roadsters were ever made, to celebrate 50 years of Lamborghini when it launched in 2013. This one was only the second Roadster built and was sold to a member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family. And because too many rich people collect awesome cars without driving them, it only has 1,778 km (1,105 miles) on the odometer. Owning a V12 Lamborghini and only driving it 122 miles per year should be illegal.
This specific car isn’t the most tasteful of Lamborghini specs, with a matte black exterior and a black-and-green interior. It’s like a teenager spec’d it after watching a Rob Dyrdek documentary and smashing 12 Monster energy drinks. Animal-mascot crypto-money vibes. Its carbon fiber wheels are kick-ass, though.
And gets even wilder. SBX could very well break its own record in a few weeks. Another Lamborghini Veneno, this time one of just the three coupes ever made, is headed to SBX with only 127 miles on it. If the Roadster, one of nine and with 1,105 miles, sold for $6 million, my eyes are rolling already at the thought of what the coupe might sell for.
It’s unclear if the buyer knew that their $6 million purchase would break the record but they hopefully did some research on market value before clicking “bid.” If so, they would have known that this was the most anyone had ever spent on a Veneno before. And whoever buys the next one, and likely resets the record, will know that they’re doing the same. Rich people will do anything except go to therapy.
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