Jubilant Evans snaps up a £12m Ferrari

The 44-year-old Radio 2 DJ took delivery of the Ferrari 250 GTO this week. Evans posted a picture of the sought-after 1960s classic on Twitter, with the caption: "The new one has arrived."

A spokesman for RM Auctions, which sold the car on behalf of a Japanese collector, said the car had been bought by "a very enthusiastic British buyer". When asked whether the buyer had paid 12m, the spokesman said: "That is the sort of price you would expect to pay."

Evans is thought to have sold three Ferraris from his collection of sports cars to pay for the 1963 model. The car reportedly cost 6,000 when it was first sold 47 years ago and only 36 of the models, which have a top speed of 174mph, were made.

The arrival of his dream car comes in a week when Evans was already celebrating an all-time record radio audience, which smashed through the bar set by his predecessor, Sir Terry.

Official figures showed 9.53 million listeners tuned in each week to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 – the biggest audience recorded for any radio show since current research methods began in 1999.

Evans chalked up over a million more listeners than Sir Terry had when he bowed out.

Evans is seen as a former wild man of broadcasting who famously left breakfast shows on Radio 1 and Virgin Radio under clouds of controversy.