Last ever LaFerrari sells for $7,000,000

Headline number one: the last-ever chance to own a LaFerrari coupe from new has cost someone US$7 million (about £5.5m), making it the most valuable car of the 21st century ever to sell at auction. RM Sotheby’s, the auction house entrusted with the sale, promised a historic auction event and so it turned out.

No one really knew what the 500th and final example of the LaFerrari coupe would make but US$7m is higher than many were expecting and a lot more than other (pre-owned) LaFerraris have sold for. It is believed the last one changed hands for US$4.7m in the summer.

As we have already reported, the last example of the sold-out 950bhp hybrid hypercar was built specially by Ferrari in order to be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to help reconstruction after the Italian earthquakes earlier this year. RM Sotheby’s waived its normal commission on the sale.

Selling the most expensive car of the 21st century is another record for RM Sotheby’s, which already holds four of the top 10 records for the most valuable Ferraris sold at auction.

Headline number two also came during the Ferrari World Finals event at Daytona Beach Speedway: the unveiling of a new Ferrari sports racer for private owners.

It’s the sixth iteration of the Ferrari Challenge car and, after a quarter of a century of Challenge racers, the first to be turbocharged. The 488 Challenge, shown off in fetching Giallo Fly yellow with blue “25” stripes and logos, can unleash a healthy 670hp (661bhp) from its 3.9-litre twin turbo V8.

While that’s the same output as the 488 GTB road car the Challenge is able to make the horses gallop a little harder thanks to shorter gear ratios, track-optimised engine mapping, a race-shift strategy for the F1 DCT transmission, and a reduction in weight. The car also boasts more downforce thanks to a redesigned aero package that centres on a new front end with more pronounced splitter and a bigger rear wing.

The 488 Challenge also gets three manettinos on the steering wheel. One is dedicated to braking adjustment, the other two to traction control, specifically the “when” and the “how much” of wheelspin allowed. Ferrari says separating braking and traction functions allows drivers to more precisely tailor the car’s handling to their particular driving style.

The result of all this? A second off the Fiorano lap time of the 458 Challenge EVO for a new record of 1min 15.5secs.

Since 1992 when the first Ferrari Challenge one-make race series was announced, more than 1,000 drivers have taken part in over 1,000 races in three series spanning three continents.