Based upon auction prices the classic Ferraris are commanding the highest prices these days but when sold privately these classic cars are achieving even higher sums.

Bloomberg have put together a list of the top 20 cars sold at auction and Ferraris feature in nine of those places followed by Mercedes with four spots and Bugatti with two. Investors in classic cars are extremely investment savvy and will concentrate their resources on classic cars that are both safe and highly desirable.

It is felt that you are unlikely to be able to pick up a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic or a Ferrari 250 GTO at a public auction in the foreseeable future with vehicles of that quality more likely to be sold privately.

At auction, the number one classic car on Bloomberg’s list of top 20 was a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (“Red Head”) that was the proud winner of the 1958, 1960 and 1961 Le Mans 24-Hour race. The 1957 prototype sold for $16.4 million in 2011.

However, early in 2012, a beautiful Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was sold privately for $25 million. To top that, a Ferrari GTO 250 that was built in 1962 for world champion racing driver Stirling Moss to drive sold for a massive $35 million. As only 39 of them were ever built, they are felt to be the most desirable classic car to own. It is believed that a minimum of three have sold for in excess of $30 million yet none have been auctioned publicly for over 20 years.

In second place, on the top 20 list, is yet another Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that was built in 1957. In 2009 it achieved $12.4 million at auction in Italy.

Moving into third place was a Mercedes-Benz 540K Roadster built in 1936 that achieved a sale price of $11.8 million in California USA in 2012.

So, if you have $30 million plus in a savings account earning a very low rate of interest, a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa may be worth considering