His £5,571,106 bid broke the record for a vintage car bought at auction, beating a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO which sold at Sotheby’s Monaco in 1990 for £5,499,471.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2008 estimate Chris Evans’ wealth at £45 million, so the Ferrari is a sizeable dent in his pocket.

In fact, his new Ferrari is worth considerably more than his palatial Surrey farmhouse, which is worth around £3.2 million.

Chris Evans first became famous as the loud-mouth presenter of Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast. He set up his own company called Ginger Productions, hosting shows such as TFI Friday.

The sale of his Ginger Media Group in 2000 netted £225 million, of which Evans scooped more than £70 million.

For the same cost as his 1961 Ferrari 205 GT SWB California Spider, Chris could have bought a fleet of more than 370 new Ford Focus hatchbacks or six brand new Bugatti Veyrons with change left in his pocket.

Chris is a renowned car nut, and his previously owned Ferrari 328 GTS.

In 2000 he famously bought a Ferrari for Dr Who star Billie Piper the day after they met, and gave it to her full of roses – despite the fact she couldn’t drive.