When it debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013, Ferrari’s LaFerrari was the most powerful production car in the marque’s history as well as the brand’s first hybrid Prancing Horse.
With an MSRP approaching $1.5 million, the “definitive” Ferrari (hence its LaFerrari moniker was also one of the pricer models ever to role out of the Italian company’s manufacturing campus in Maranello.
Packing a 963-horsepower hybrid V12 with enough juice to go from zero to 186 miles per hour in a mere 15 seconds, the seven-speed LaFerrari was one of the fastest sprinters on the market thanks to its 2.4-second zero to 60 time.
Innovative in its design, the LaFerrari concept was outfitted with active aerodynamics that linked with the car’s other dynamic control systems in order to deliver “a breakthrough in overall performance not possible if both were independent.”
Tipping the scales at around 3,500 pounds, Ferrari only allowed loyal customers who already owned five or more of their cars to purchase one of the 499 LaFerraris that were produced between 2013 and 2016.
As if having stable full of Prancing Horses wasn’t enough of a prerequisite, Ferrari dealers had to whittle their list of eligible customers down to a subset of their most loyal. Those names were then submitted to corporate execs in Maranello, where Ferrari bigwigs then made the final decisions.
“People assume that it’s a financial decision, whoever has more money gets one. The reality is … they use it as a reward for people who are loyal to the brand,” Robert Herjavec, a businessman who ended up with one of the 499 told Wired in 2014. “This is where the Ferrari world is kind of like the Vatican. It’s very mysterious. There are a lot of trinkets you have to wear, and a lot of rings you have to kiss.”
The 500th, and final, LaFerrari was built and auctioned off to raise money to help rebuild the parts of Central Italy affected by a series of earthquakes in 2016. When it sold, that model went for $7 million, making it “the most valuable 21st-century automobile ever sold at auction.”
While it won’t break that record, the 2015 model you see pictured here is expected to bring in up to $3.5 million when it crosses the block March 29 and 30 courtesy of RM Auctions at their Fort Lauderdale sale at the end of the month.
Finished in Giallo Modena that’s accented nicely by the vehicle’s black roof, chassis No. ZFF76ZFA4F0209754 has fewer than 600 miles on its odometer and reportedly still maintains as-new condition throughout.
It ain’t practical, but mamma mia is it pretty.
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