In one of the most shocking outcomes ever at a public auction, the first Ferrari Luce ‘Tailor Made’ with chassis #0 absolutely obliterated its $1.1 million estimate by capturing $40,000,000 at the RM Auction in Monterey, California just minutes ago. And this is all for a car that starts at $600,000 and was panned in the press. Everyone outside and inside the room is talking about and no one can quite believe it.
I’ve spent a large chunk of this week sitting in the room at the large conference hall, watching the auctions slowly proceed. While there’s been the usual and predictable rounds of spirited bidding all week, the action eventually settles into an almost metronomic rhythm. That’s not what happened when the Luce–Ferrari’s first fully electric car–came on stage.
Starting with a $1 million opening bid, the auctioneer could scarcely catch his breath before the price shot up to $5 million. And then $10 million. And then $25 million. All the way up to the $40 million, making it one of the highest selling Ferraris of all time.
What-in-the-ever-loving-cavallino-rampante is going on here?
A Special Ferrari For A Good Cause
Just as a reminder, last year a Ferrari 250 LM sold for about $40.3 million. That was a rare version of a historic car with an impeccable history. This is Ferrari’s attempt to make something a little more appliance-like. A four-door hatchback of sorts.
Not that it’s your normal electric car. The Luce features four electric motors producing a combined 1,035 horsepower. The front two motors combined are good for a relatively pedestrian 282 horsepower, whereas the two rear motors produce 835 ponies. That means 0-60 mph comes in a nauseatingly quick 2.5 seconds or better. Other stats are a little more pedestrian, as it gets 330 miles of range on the European WLTP test cycle.
This specific Luce isn’t all about numbers, as RM points out in its listing:
The exterior is defined by an exclusive Madreperla Semi-Gloss finish, developed specifically for this car. Its formulation incorporates a dedicated Ferrari Tailor Made pigment, capable of producing iridescent reflections that evolve from green to violet depending on the intensity and angle of the light. The semi-gloss finish preserves the depth and richness of the pearlescent effect while creating a sophisticated balance between gloss and matte surfaces, enhancing the sculptural quality of the car’s forms. The complexity of the application process ensures that each example is unique and inimitable in its chromatic nuances.
The interior introduces a new interpretation of luminosity through the use of Le Mans metallic leather in Perla, an exclusive material developed for the Ferrari Tailor Made program and derived from carefully selected Swiss hides. Its distinctive softness and reflective properties contribute to the diffusion of light within the cabin, enhancing the sense of space and refinement.
For the first time, the secondary interior elements are finished in Grigio Corvara instead of traditional black, creating a visual continuity that reinforces the luminous character of the entire project. The theme of white extends to numerous details developed specifically for this configuration, including dedicated wheels, bespoke brake calipers, and the Ferrari logo set against an optical white background—an exclusive solution created for this car.
Right, so it’s black and white.
This isn’t just any auction, though, as 100% of the money is going to charity. Specifically, it’s going to The Ferrari Foundation. What, exactly, is The Ferrari Foundation. It is, per ProPublica, a real 501 (c)(3). what it does, though, has been a little vague. Our friend Abigail Bassett tracked down some more info for this article in Observer:
A Ferrari spokesperson said that the Ferrari Foundation “is a collaboration with Save the Children, whereby Ferrari made a significant contribution to help rebuild the Aveson Charter School in Altadena, California, whose campus was tragically destroyed by the Eaton Wildfire earlier in 2025.”
Because it’s a charity donation, in theory, the buyer will be able to write off a significant chunk of the proceeds.
Is This Real?
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There’s been chatter all week about how this auction might go. Would someone hoping to ingratiate themselves to Ferrari bite the bullet and bid high? Would Ferrari tap a bidder to make sure that there was a good impression made?
I’m not sure anyone other than the bidder themselves was ready for the biggest auction so far this weekend to come on Saturday night and be for the one Ferrari no one was quite sure of. Again, a yellow and rare Ferrari Daytona SP3 sold for less than half this amount yesterday at RM.
Shortly after the auction I spoke with a friend who arrived shortly after and I asked “Could you believe the Ferrari Luce sold for $40?” and he replied “$40,000?” When I told him he was off by three zeroes his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
It’s always difficult to know what’s really going on in a situation like this, though much of the bidding was in the room (as opposed to the phones or online), which makes it seem a little less like some of the drama was artificially encouraged. I’m sure Ferrari had a contingency so as not to embarass themselves, but they didn’t seem to need it.
There was also a moment where the bidding seems to have stalled out at around $30 million. It then jumped to $32 million and, skipping a few steps, went to $35 million. Then $36 million. The unidentified buyer didn’t seem to want to wait to get outbid and went to $40 million, which scared everyone else off.
Cheers went up in the room when the auctioneer finally dropped the gavel.
“How do we top that ladies and gentleman?” he asked after taking a moment to collection himself.
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Whatever the motivation for the buyer, it’s unlikely he’s going to need to wait for his next allocation.
Bryant Kreaden, The Car Shrink and former manager of Ferrari of Beverly Hills, says it might be a lot more straightforward than it seems.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily that he loves a Luce, I think he’s a Ferrari enthusiast, he probably owns Formula One cars [and] is that level of a collector and probably needs a write-off,” said Kreaden.
Top photo: RM
I’m guessing that whoever bought this already planned to donate that much toward the construction of the school. Some alumni, proud parent or whatever. Doing it this way got him a toy and conversation starter.
It’s just further proof that money doesn’t = brains.
My buddy and I saw a lot of that during Car Week lol.
In response to the comments I’ve read elsewhere, suggesting that paying $40 million for this allows the new owner to ‘write off’ a ‘loss’ for tax purposes and keep the car besides… I’m not sure it works that way.
Disclaimer: I’m not a tax guy, or a finance guy, or lucky enough to be born into the world’s 1%. I’ve made some modest investments over the years, and my very limited understanding of how these things work is based only on that.
Why you buy (for example) a stock, and that stock goes down in value, you don’t get to deduct that loss from your taxable income the way you deduct (for another example) the amount of interest you paid on your mortgage that year. For a stock investment (and for many other kinds of investments AFAIK) you only get to deduct any loss (or declare any income) when you sell/cash out of the stock. It’s only THEN that the income or loss get figured into your tax liabilities. If you hold the stock for five years, and sell it on the sixth year, your gain or loss only impacts the sixth year taxes.
NOW, whether it works the same way for the $40 million purchase of this Ferrari EV, I’m not sure. I have little doubt that buyers in that tax bracket have skilled financial planners and tax preparers who will undoubtedly form trusts, corporations, and even charities in order to achieve the highest gains/lowest losses for their clients.
Again, I know very little about such things, but I’ve seen so many comments that suggest the $40 million purchase isn’t worth $40 million, and won’t be worth $40 million, let alone more, for a very long time, if ever. That reality leads folks to think there’s an ulterior motive (beyond adding Ferrari EV #1 to an auto collection) to this purchase.
Which may be true. Or not. Anyone out there better informed than me re: the tax strategies of the uber-weathy?
David Lee?
Anything bougth at Sotheby’s or any other orgy for rich shold have 100% tax going to local hostpitals on top of the value
hard to be waking up being 39 years old dude who works 2 jobs to provide to the family and seeing this dystopian shit. can whoever bought it for $40mil invest maybe $2mil into our locat communicaty centre that is falling apart? poor kids do not even have proper rooms… and this comes in… how not to get angry IDK
This is a money-laundering bribe to someone at the Ferrari Foundation.
People are dumbasses with their money.
To someone with the kind of money to do something like this, it’s just about bragging rights. It’s literally worth $40 million to this person so they can one-up their friends.
There are no ethical billionaires.
Everything about the Ferrari Luce is a cynical ploy to line the pockets of Ferrari at the expense of the brand’s history. Not that I give a shit about Ferrari per-se, but to witness the extreme wealth on display just paying “eff you” money to show off – it’s really disgusting. Here I am waiting for my next paycheck to hit the bank so I can pay some bills for my MF’ing groceries and what not and these assholes just buy a POS Ferrari to drive up the resale and get a good allocation spot – all to brag to their bros at the Country Club about how rich they are.
The winning bidder already had to buy 10 Luce’s to get to the front of the line for whatever special model he actually wants, and is hoping that this sale will boost the resale on the 10 others they had to buy to get in the special line; when he can sell them in 3 years.
Also, yeah that’s a nice healthy tax break.
Wealth is wasted on the rich
So this is like the countless other charity auctions that cause the collective automotive media outlets to salivate because they can crap out endless “OMG SOMEONE PAID MILLIONS FOR X CAR!11!” clickbait nonsense.
He made a donation to a charity and got a car for free. I stg I’m so tired of this.
If one’s only motivation is to donate money, donations can be made directly. Choosing to use an opportunity like this to make the donation IS a statement and is perfectly reasonable to discuss.
It’s reasonable to discuss, but it’s misleading to say that the car sold for $40M.
Seriously – this is what the Luce was BUILT FOR: Jumping to the front of the ‘Special Ferrari’ line. The tax write-off benefit is secondary.
Want a F80XX Evo2 when it’s released, and haven’t gained Ferrari’s special blessing? Ain’t happening, unless you bought a Luce!!
The other thing going on here is that Ferrari is raising their overall corporate economy and lowering overall emissions, a la Mercedes-Benz and the EQ cars. If you recall, that lineup was an incredible sales success. </sarcasm>
Luces will be showing up on Ferrari lots with >250 miles, and a healthy discount shortly. You thought the SF90 was terrible about depreciation? Hold onto your nuts…
$40,000,000 for something that looks like an LG clothes washer?
Life’s Good… I guess.
LG washers catch on fire too.
I have LG stacked washer and dryer, and I think it looks better than the Luce.
I’m here late as usual. Please, yes, tax the rich , but chances are the buyer didn’t need a write off. A lot of those ultra rich pay no tax at all. That’s the actual crime. They’re not worried about how to lower their tax bill. He may have some other sick reasons for spending 40 mil, but probably not a write off. https://www.propublica.org/article/billionaires-tax-avoidance-techniques-irs-files
Be angry, yes, but for the right reason. It’s worse than you think. If you’ve got 10000, do you worry about spending 10? If you’ve got billions, you don’t need to worry about spending millions.
This^^^. I recall a client I had many years ago. She was, how to say this, a young kept woman of an older wealthy man. One day she came to my office post a lunch date (an actual lunch you mind in the gutter ones) driving a very nice Mercedes convertible (apologies to our real Mercedes) that he gave her. I did the math and it equated to my buying a McDonalds drive through lunch. So Eat The Rich? Or invest in guillotine futures…
Yup
LOL what a total jabronie.
I hope that $40 million includes at least a year of the various subscriptions and updates that probably come with it…
Somewhere in the Swiss Alps, a cow mom is saying: “Look what they did to my boy!”
Image the indignity of having your skin put into an ugly and pointless EV that is only designed to be sold as a tax write off.
The haves and the have nots.
Like most charity live auctions – This was a not about buying an object for more money than it’s worth.
This was about making a very public flex for a
charitable contributiontax write off.The Mazda Luce is still better than the Ferrari Luce. This,auction is more about flexing wealth than any intrinsic value of the car, and us,normal people are better off with a Hyundai Ioniq or a,Chevy Bolt
More money than brains….
Obvious tax writeoff, but if you squint at it just right…I know everyone in every comment section ever thinks climate change is a hoax and the oil will last forever… but… there will be a day when all cars are electric, even super cars. This vehicle has historical significance by virtue of that alone. Even if everyone hates it.
Came here for something like this thanks
I don’t get it – because it’s the first one from an upscale brand? By that metric the first running Tesla mule should be far more valuable. And I am talking about pre-musk Tesla when they were dropping hand-built batteries into Elise bodies. That would be worth something imo if we’re talking historical significance. Or the first mass produced Model S, etc. the Luce broke no ground nor innovated anything.
First electric Ferrari.
Or maybe we live in a world where rich people pay millions of dollars for a banana taped to a wall.
Whichever.
They are probably betting that this car will signal the death of Ferrari and will go up in value when the brand goes under…