The weirdest Ferrari ever is for sale

Just what is this Prancing Horse monstrosity? Well, it’s definitely a real Ferrari. It’s very rare – unique in fact. It’s very fast and massively powerful. It’s certified by Ferrari Classiche. And it will probably sell for a great deal of money. 

It is the factory prototype of the LaFerrari. More precisely, it is the first-phase test mule prototype known inside Maranello as M6. And RM Sotheby’s will be auctioning it at its auction in Monaco on 14 May.

It is rare that manufacturers sell development mules, the hacked-around cars that are modified with new bits from whatever new model is being worked on.

In M6’s case, under the detachable testing panels is the platform and most of the body of a 458 Italia, all heavily modified for the vastly different hardware of what would become Ferrari’s first hybrid hypercar – the car that along with Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1 ushered in a new era of high-performance engineering.

The prototype, which dates from 2012, a year before the finished LaFerrari starred at the Geneva Motor Show, was used for testing brakes, steering, suspension and ESP as well as the hugely complex hybridised V12 drivetrain. Who knows, it may even have been caught out of the road or at the Nürburgring in one of the spy shots of the time.

As a mule, it is not homologated and therefore cannot be registered for road use or indeed be used on public race circuits – one reason mules like this tend to get destroyed rather than sold. But this is a Ferrari and one with an important place in the Prancing Horse’s history, so it will be a valuable commodity for someone. Ferrari recognised that by selling all the LaFerrari mules to its most loyal customers, including this one, once they were no longer required for testing.

Now it is on the open market for the first time and, as RM says, it represents “a one-of-a-kind opportunity to own part of Ferrari history”. As a museum piece it would definitely be quite a talking point, but RM says it is in running order and could be driven on private land.

With its chopped-around body, exposed wires and unfinished corners, it might be crude and ugly but it does present a fascinating insight into the development of one of the era’s most significant supercars.  All around it are remnants of its past, like the hand-written marker annotations and printed tester’s notes stuck to the dashboard.

Price? No one’s saying. What would you pay for it?