The classic supercar investment boom that Maxim explored a few years ago is about to pay off big time for the owner of this blazing yellow Ferrari F50, which is due to cross the auction block at Sotheby’s Sealed sale in early October.
(Sotheby’s Sealed)
In 2020, RM Sotheby’s sold a 1995 Ferrari F50 with 5,162 miles on the odometer for just under $3.8 million, according to data retrieved from Classic.com . Then, in August of 2022, a 6,193-mile example was sold by Gooding & Company for just over $4.6 million. And in March of this year, an 834-mile example, again sold by RM Sotheby’s, cracked $5 million.
(Sotheby’s Sealed)
The trend is clear as can be, which is part of the reason why this 5,600-mile 1997 Ferrari F50 is expected to bring up to $5 million. Another major factor is the color. Of the just 349 F50 examples produced between 1995 and 1997, a vast majority were finished in Ferrari’s trademark Rosso Corsa, including all of the models listed above. This example, chassis No. 107060, was one of just 31 that left the factory in “Giallo Modena” yellow, making it 10 times as rare as any Rosso Corsa counterpart.
(Sotheby’s Sealed)
Sales trends aside, the F50 is also one of the last great old-school supercars. The 4.7-liter V12—a screamer with an 8,500-rpm red line that was derived largely from the F1 engine raced by Scuderia Ferrari until 1991—originally channeled 513 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels through six speeds on the floor. The Pininfarina-designed carbon fiber body was formed in wind tunnels, with deep air intakes in the front hood, a curvier take on the 1989 Ferrari Mythos Concept’s shell, and a gargantuan rear wing similar in stature to that of the preceding F40.
(Sotheby’s Sealed)
Sotheby’s Sealed has more information on chassis No. 107060’s provenance service record:
According to marque expert Marcel Massini, chassis 107060 was offered for sale in the May 2000 issue of Ferrari Market Letter, by which point it had covered just 3,000 kilometres. The car then left its native Italy and in 2002, was noted as being registered in Japan. Just one year later, the Ferrari was acquired by the consigning owner and was imported to Taiwan, where it has remained ever since. Driven regularly though sparingly, the striking yellow supercar wore the instantly recognisable and cherished registration number ‘8888-GT’.
(Sotheby’s Sealed)
The F50 was subject to ongoing maintenance while in the current owner’s care, with no fewer than 11 invoices on file from Tainan-based Jun Hui Car and a further nine from Modena Motori Taiwan Co. Ltd—the country’s first official Ferrari dealership. Among the works carried out by Jun Hui Car was installation of a Tubi exhaust system on 16 December 2008, fitting of fresh brake pads on 21 February 2009, and a clutch replacement on 28 March 2010. Modena Motori Taiwan, meanwhile, fully repainted the front bumper on 12 March 2013 at a cost of NT$25,250.
Oil changes were carried out by the firm in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2021, while on 18 October 2016, an assessment notes that only the non-standard Tubi exhaust and HID headlamps—fitted while in current ownership—should be returned to factory specifications before applying for Ferrari Classiche Certification. Most recently, on 28 March 2023, the coolant tank was repaired by Treasuremax of Taipei.
(Sotheby’s Sealed)
This Ferrari F50, dubbed “Maranello’s Best Kept Secret” by Sotheby’s Sealed, is expected to fetch anywhere from $4 to $5 million at its auction, scheduled for October 2-5.
