Evans, sitting in the front seat at the auction in Italy earlier this year, said afterwards: “I’m fine. I’ve just had a Guinness.”

Mercedes-Benz 540k Special Roadster (£3.9 million)

Garage sales – old CDs, lawnmowers, toys and random car parts are pawned off to bargain-happy neighbours.

But diminutive billionaire F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone does it rather differently…by auctioning off his multi-million pound car collection.

And the star of the so-called 2007 ‘garage sale’? His pristine 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540k Special Roadster – sold to make space for his racing car collection.

The most powerful man in F1 said at the time: “I have never driven any of them.

“I bought them for their style.”

McLaren F1 (£2.53 million)

A superlative supercar by any measurable standard…this is the finest British supercar ever made – even Lewis Hamilton wants one.

Designed to simply be the most engaging driving experience ever, the McLaren F1 leaped to the top of the supercar tree and held onto the title of the fastest car in the world throughout the 1990s.

And this – the last ever McLaren F1 made – recently sold at a London auction for £2.53 million.

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport (£1.8 million)

This is engineering at its very best – even Jeremy Clarkson referred to it as the motoring world’s “Concorde moment”…the birth of the Bugatti Veyron.

But although the 1,001bhp Bugatti Veyron isn’t the world’s fastest car anymore, the company still pulled out the stops when it launched the drop-top version: the Veyron Grand Sport.

Unveiled as the world’s fastest convertible, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport sprints from 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds – just 0.2 seconds slower than the fixed roof – and tops out at 250mph with the roof on, and 225mph with the hood down.

And one well-heeled customer paid £1.8 million at a Californian auction for the privilege of owning the very first production Veyron Grand Sport.

Aston Martin One-77 (£1.2 million)

Aston clearly thinks the credit crunch really is some form of breakfast cereal, after announcing it would build the quickest production car to wear the famous AM badge: the million-pound Aston Martin One-77.

The new Aston premiered at the 2008 Paris Motor Show and will be fitted with a 7.3-litre V12 powerhouse developing more than 700bhp, which should mean a sub-four second 0-62mph time and a top speed of 200mph+.

And all this for just £1.2 million…bargain.

Rolls-Royce Convertible ($1 million - £667,735)

In 2006 the millionaire rapper Jay-Z – who shot to fame with his tune “Hard Knock Life” – bought his then-fiancé, former Destiny’s Child singer and solo star Beyonce Knowles, a 1959 Rolls-Royce Convertible.

Writing at the time, American newspaper The New York Post reported that Jay-Z – real name Sean Carter – took Beyonce into the Time Warner garage on the morning of her 25th birthday and surprised her with the drop-top Rolls.

The Post reported the singer was “overwhelmed” with happiness and left “speechless”.

Watch the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport on its launch:

Would you spend £1 million on a Bugatti Veyron? Have your say on the Auto Trader Blog