The collector-car sale carried out by RM Auctions in California last week had the 1968 Ford GT40 - which Steve McQueen used as a camera car during the production of his "Le Mans" film in 1971 - earning the distinction of being the `most expensive US car ever sold at an auction' --- fetching a whopping $11 million!

According to the details shared by RM Auctions, the 1968 Ford GT 40 - which boasted a seminal 1960s design that regularly dealt on-track blows to the Ferraris - has set "a new world record for an American automobile sold at auction", by selling for a record $11 million at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 19, 2012.

Prior to the 1968 Ford GT40, the record for the most expensive US car sold at an auction was set by a 1931 Duesenberg roadster - also called the Whittell Coupe - which fetched $10.34 million at a 2011 sale directed by Gooding & Company; and had been officially recognized as the record holder.

In fact, along with breaking Whittell Coupe's record, the McQueen GT40 also happened to be the third-highest sale in a record-shattering weekend on and around the Monterey Peninsula. The highest price of $11.77 million was fetched by a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster; followed by the second-highest price of $11.275 million 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LBW California Spider Competizione; both of which were offered by Gooding.