It may look like a pile of twisted metal, but it’s actually a $2 million-plus Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider from 1954.

RM Sotheby’s, which will auction the, er, car in California in August has given an estimate of between $US1.2 million ($1.7 million) and $US1.6 million. For that – equating to almost $2.4 million at the upper end – the buyer will receive what is described as “an intriguing prospect”.