The first production example of the Ferrari Luce, the Italian brand’s first electric model, was sold for US$ 40 million (about R$ 208 million) on Saturday night, during RM Sotheby’s auction at Monterey Car Week, in California. The amount is the highest ever paid for a brand new car at public auction.
Identified as Chassis 0, the car was offered with no minimum price and without the usual commission charged to the buyer, which means that the bid of US$ 40 million fully corresponds to charity. The auction house’s estimate was just over US$ 1.1 million (approximately R$ 5.7 million) – that is, the result was 36 times higher than expected. All proceeds will go to educational initiatives of the Ferrari Foundation.
The buyer, according to the duPont Registry website, is 87-year-old American billionaire Herbert “Herbie” Wertheim. RM Sotheby’s recorded the sale only as made to an anonymous bidder, who participated by telephone.
Photo: RM Sotheby’s | Disclosure
Who is the man in the red hat
An optometrist, inventor and investor, Wertheim built an estimated fortune of billions of dollars in Florida and is a figure known in Monterey for the red fedora hat he has worn for decades. A signatory to the Giving Pledge, a commitment created by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to donate at least half of the estate, he has already transferred more than US$ 100 million to public universities in the state.
It is not the first time he has set the record. In 2025, at the same event, Wertheim took a unique example of the Ferrari Daytona SP3 prepared by the Tailor Made division for US$ 26 million – a mark now surpassed by himself.
Presented in May, the Ferrari Luce inaugurates a platform dedicated to electrification, with four electric motors, all-wheel drive, four doors and five seats. The combined power reaches 1,050 hp, with 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 310 km/h. The battery has 122 kWh gross, 800 V architecture and an estimated range of 530 km, still in homologation. The design was jointly signed by the Centro Stile de Maranello and LoveFrom, the studio of Jony Ive, formerly of Apple.
Luce starts at 550 thousand euros in Europe, equivalent to about R$ 3.3 million, with the first deliveries scheduled for the last quarter of 2026. Saturday’s bid is equivalent to approximately 62 times this list value. The first year’s production sold out in less than two months, which expanded the appeal of the inaugural example, assembled with exclusive finishes by Tailor Made in specification for the United States.
Photo: RM Sotheby’s | Disclosure
Experts in the collectibles market consider, however, that the number does not serve as a price reference: it is a philanthropic transaction, with a structure that Ferrari has been repeating for years in Monterey. What sustains these bids is the origin: cars that mark the beginning or end of a brand cycle occupy their own lane in the market.
Comments are the sole responsibility of their authors and do not represent the opinion of this site. Comments containing profanity or offensive language will not be published. If you identify anything that violates the terms of use, please report it.
