Rare Ferrari fetches $40m at auction
Just one small detail of this Ferrari supercar means desperate buyers were willing to pay more than 10 times its usual sticker price.
Luxury car collectors are famous for paying extortionate prices for limited-edition cars – but this one sets a new standard.
In what might be the world’s most expensive case of auto FOMO – the fear of missing out – a fabulously wealthy collector has spent a staggering sum on a Ferrari with a one-off paint job.
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The Ferrari Daytona SP3 is a rare beast that combines the racing mid-engine layout of the brand’s most agile supercars with the huge 6.5-litre V12 found in its more luxurious grand tourers.
Limited to just 599 examples, the Ferrari SP3 was priced from $US2.2 million ($3.38m) plus options and on-road costs. It was only offered to Ferrari’s best customers – folks who might have bought a dozen cars from the brand.
A single additional car brought that sold-out production run up to 600 vehicles.
Finished in an eye-catching blend of yellow paint and exposed carbon fibre, it has an exclusive livery that includes Ferrari’s logo writ large over the top of the car.
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The brand sold the car through RM Auctions to raise money for The Ferrari Foundation, a charity which invests in education, and recently helped rebuild a Californian school lost to fire.
Monterey’s defining snapshot: $26,000,000 USD on the board for the 2025 Daytona SP3 'Tailor Made'. #RMMonterey#RMSothebys#Ferrari#DaytonaSP3#MontereyCarWeekpic.twitter.com/NTvockz7K6
— RM Sotheby's (@rmsothebys) August 17, 2025
The unique car struck a chord with Ferrari collectors who entered a bidding war during California’s “car week” celebrations.
It sold for a staggering $US26m ($39.9m), or more than 10 times the standard car’s original cost.
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Ferrari designer Flavio Manzoni said he was “speechless”, Octane magazine described the sum as “frankly obscene” and Road and Track confirmed it was the highest sum ever paid for a new Ferrari at auction.
It’s certainly a high price to avoid missing out on a rare Ferrari.
Originally published as Rare Ferrari fetches $40m at auction
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