Ferrari’s first electric car fetches record US$40mil at auction

Ferrari NV’s first all-electric vehicle defied criticism to sell for US$40 million, making it the most expensive new car ever sold at auction.

The Sotheby’s charity auction of the Luce “tailor made” at Monterey Car Week in California broke a record posted last year, when Ferrari’s customised Daytona SP3 sold for US$26 million, the carmaker said in a statement.

Ferrari in May unveiled the Luce, priced at €550,000 (US$636,356) to a wave of criticism and a drop in the company’s share price. The vehicle marks a break from Ferrari’s heritage of combustion-engine sports cars.

“Tailor made” cars are one-of-a-kind vehicles customised to a buyer’s precise specifications.

The model was designed with LoveFrom, the studio founded by Jony Ive, Apple Inc’s former design chief and a key figure behind the iPhone and iMac. The car combines more than 1,000 horsepower with four doors.

Ferrari’s chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna said in May that the model was getting orders from old and new customers.

“The Ferrari Luce has nothing to do with electric cars you have seen from other players,” he said at the time. “You have to see it and drive it to understand that it wasn’t copied — not the interiors, not the exterior, not the performance.”

Ferrari raised its full-year guidance late last month, as demand for limited-run models like the F80 and a more expensive version of its Purosangue four-seater drove higher second quarter results.