A rare 1920s cookie tin and its original contents were auctioned for 15,600 pounds (us $32,000) in London on Wednesday.

The Sports Coupe car-shaped tin went for more than five times the pre-sale estimate, Bonhams auction house said.

Experts believe the William Crawford and Sons biscuit tin, sold to an anonymous private British collector, has now become the most expensive in the world.

Its unusual shape always made the car an attractive item. Its original cost is estimated to have been about 100 pounds in today's prices.

The tin, designed as a children's toy car, was fitted with electric headlights and featured a male driver and female passenger.

The biscuits were in the shape of numbers and letters while others depicted "exotic animals."

The red and black lithographed tin came with the inscription "To Ted wishing him many Happy returns of the day from Lady Eleanor."

A Bonhams spokeswoman said the tin had sparked "an awful lot of interest" from around the world.

She said it was highly unusual for a tin of that age to be in such good condition - and to have retained its original biscuits - especially "considering this was a children's toy."

"All of this made it a highly desirable collector's piece," she added.