Ferrari’s first fully electric car, the Luce, has sold for $40 million at a charity auction in California, a record for a new car sold at auction.
The sale took place at RM Sotheby’s in Monterey, California, during Monterey Car Week. DR reports that the price corresponds to just under 258 million Danish kroner. Proceeds from the sale go to a nonprofit foundation under Ferrari.
The car auctioned was a one-off, tailor-made version of the Luce. According to Reuters, published via Euronext, it is known as “Chassis 0” and was built by Ferrari’s Tailor Made division and design center. The RM Sotheby’s lot listing describes it as a 2026 Ferrari Luce “Tailor Made” and confirms the $40,000,000 result.
A record price for a criticized design
In a statement cited by Reuters, Ferrari said the price set a world record for a new car sold at auction. That figure surpassed the $26 million paid for a one-off Ferrari Daytona SP3 in 2025. Ferrari added that proceeds will fund education projects for young people in the United States and elsewhere through the Ferrari Foundation.
Electrek reported that the auction was held without reserve and that RM Sotheby’s waived the buyer’s premium. That means the full hammer price goes to the foundation. The outlet also calculated that the result was more than 36 times the pre-sale estimate of $1.1 million.
The BBC put the sum at £29.5 million and noted the price was more than 35 times the usual price of a Luce. Neither RM Sotheby’s nor Ferrari has named the buyer.
The Luce was unveiled in the spring and drew criticism for looking markedly different from traditional Ferrari design. DR notes that the shape reflects the need to house a large battery and four seats. Mikkel Thomsager, editor at Bil Magasinet, said in May that Ferrari had clearly struggled with the design and that he could not see where the new design language was heading.
Ferrari invited Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Pope Leo to view the car at its launch. The company’s share price still fell after the unveiling. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was also unimpressed, as was former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who said the Luce would damage the Ferrari brand.
Speaking to the Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, di Montezemolo added that the car was at least one that the Chinese would not copy. Bloomberg framed the sale as the polarizing model defying that earlier criticism.
According to CNBC TV18, the auction of the first production chassis was scheduled to coincide with Monterey Car Week, an annual gathering of collectors in California. Coverage of the sale on Ferrari described the lot as an unrepeatable chance to buy the first production Luce.
