This past weekend, someone with a very large wallet and an even larger sense of taste spent $9.24 million on a Ferrari F50. Yes, that’s right — nearly four million more than what these cars typically command. You could call it madness, but we call it inevitability.

Because this isn’t just any F50. This is the fashion-forward unicorn once owned by Ralph Lauren — a man who, when he wasn’t redefining American prep, was amassing one of the most jaw-droppingly valuable Ferrari collections on Earth.

And what a spec it is. Out of the 349 F50s ever built, just 55 were tailored for the American market. And of those, only two were painted in Giallo Modena yellow — this being one of them. So yes, rarity cranked up to 11.

Lauren eventually let go of the car back in 2003, and since then it’s spent most of its life in hiding. In fact, the last time it showed its face in public was in 2009, before disappearing into the quiet suburbs of Virginia. Cue this auction, and the world finally remembered just how intoxicating the F50 really is.

In preparation for its big debut, Ferrari Central Florida gave it a fresh dose of TLC in late 2024: new fuel tank, brakes, and rubber. And it’s got the Ferrari Classiche certification, because obviously. Despite being almost 30 years old, the odometer reads just 8,690 kilometers. In Ferrari-speak, that’s barely run in.

It wasn’t always like this, of course. For years the F50 lived in the shadow of its lairy older brother, the F40, and its futuristic younger sibling, the Enzo. Critics once moaned about its looks, its lack of a turbocharged punch, or the fact that it felt too much like a race car on the road. Today, those same critics are probably kicking themselves, because values are now skyrocketing faster than the rev counter on its 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V12 — an engine with genuine Formula 1 DNA.

For context, the previous record for an F50 was a mere $5.5 million, set earlier this year by an example with just 2,174 kilometers on the clock. This new sale obliterates that, and suddenly the F50 isn’t the “forgotten middle child” of Ferrari hypercars anymore. It’s the one everyone wants.

So, what have we learned? Simple: if you’ve got an F50 sitting quietly in your garage, congratulations — you’re sitting on a gold mine. If you don’t… well, best start designing polo shirts.

Source: RM Sotheby’s