The six most expensive Ferraris in the world

Ferrari has built some of the fastest and most expensive cars in the world.

Ferrari is an Italian sports car company and Formula One racing team. The two sides of the business are interconnected, one is impossible without the other because founder Enzo Ferrari started building road cars to finance his racing team.

The Scuderia Ferrari (racing team) started Alfa Romeo's motorsport program in 1929, but by 1947 Ferrari's first road-going model, the 125 S, hit the streets. Since then, Ferrari has been a leader on the road and on the race track.

He has won 16 F1 Constructors' Championships, 15 Drivers' titles and 237 Grands Prix, but this racing success has gone hand in hand with the rise of road car production. 

While Enzo may have been focused on racing, after his death in 1988, Ferrari became a world-famous luxury brand, producing arguably the most beautiful and most coveted line of supercars in the world. 

The current lineup includes the 296 GTB, Roma, Portofino M, F8 Tributo, 812 Superfast and 812 Competizione models, as well as the SF90 Stradale/Spider hybrid.

What is the average price of a Ferrari? What is considered expensive? How much does a Ferrari cost in Australia?

The Portofino is currently the cheapest car in the Ferrari lineup.

Building road cars started as a side job for Enzo Ferrari, but over the past 75 years the company has produced hundreds of models, some of which have become the most coveted cars in the world.

In fact, the most expensive Ferrari sold - according to public figures - is also the most expensive car in the world; A 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO that sold for US$70 million (US$98 million). 

So by comparison, a brand new $400k Portofino seems like a relatively good deal, even if it's clearly a very expensive new car.

Looking at the current range, the Portofino and Roma are the most affordable at $398,888 and $409,888 respectively, while the most expensive Ferraris currently available are the 812 GTS convertible at $675,888 and the SF90 Stradale, which starts at mind-blowing 846,888 XNUMX dollars.

The average price of the current range is approximately $560,000.

Why are Ferraris so expensive? Why are they so popular?

Ferrari makes beautiful cars, but the SF90 is something else.

The simple reason Ferraris are so expensive and popular is exclusivity. The company's goal has generally been to sell fewer cars than there is demand, even though sales have risen over the years.

The historic success of the brand's vintage sports cars as investments also helps, as Ferrari models dominate lists of the world's most expensive cars.

But the mystery of the brand also helps. It is synonymous with success, speed and celebrity. On the race track, Ferrari is associated with some of the biggest names in F1 history, including Juan Manuel Fangio, Niki Lauda, ​​Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. 

Away from the track, famous Ferrari owners include Elvis Presley, John Lennon, LeBron James, Shane Warne and even Kim Kardashian. 

This combination of desirability and limited supply has allowed Ferrari to become one of the most exclusive brands in the world and adjust its prices accordingly. 

When a company releases special models, it can set the price at any level and be sure it will sell out - something not all sports car brands can claim, just ask McLaren.

In fact, Ferrari is so popular that it offers buyers to spend millions on a new special edition. And to get on this invite list, you have to be a regular customer, which means buying several new models over a long period of time.

The six most expensive Ferrari models

1. Ferrari 1963 GTO 250 - $70 million

This 1963 250 GTO is the most expensive car ever. (Image credit: Marcel Massini)

As mentioned earlier, the most expensive Ferrari in the world is also considered to be the most expensive car ever sold. You'll notice a trend towards the top of this list, the 250 GTO. 

It was the Italian brand's entry in the Group 3 GT racing category between 1962 and '64, designed to outperform the Shelby Cobra and Jaguar E-Type.

It was powered by a 3.0-litre V12 engine borrowed from the Le Mans-winning 250 Testa Rossa, producing 221kW and 294Nm of torque, impressive for the time.

Despite having a successful racing career, it is hardly the most dominant or noteworthy racing car ever made by Ferrari. However, it is one of the most beautiful cars, perfectly capturing the styling of 1960s front-engined GT cars, and most importantly, only 39 were ever built.

This rarity makes them a sought-after model among car collectors, which is why billionaire businessman David McNeil reportedly paid $70 million for his '63 model at a private sale in 2018.

His particular example - chassis number 4153GT - won the 1964 Tour de France (car version, not bicycle version), driven by Italian ace Lucien Bianchi and Georges Berger; it was his only major victory. Another notable result was fourth place at Le Mans in 1963.

While Ferrari is famous for its red cars, this particular example is finished in silver with French tri-color racing stripes running down its length.

McNeil, founder of WeatherTech, a heavy-duty floor mat company that sponsors the US-based IMSA sports car racing series, is familiar with fast cars.  

This is where he and his son Cooper have raced in the past. Cooper actually raced a Porsche 911 GT3-R in 2021 alongside Australian Matt Campbell.

He has also amassed an enviable collection that reportedly includes a 250 GT Berlinetta SWB, 250 GTO Lusso, F40, F50 and Enzo - among many others.

2. Ferrari 1962 GTO 250 - $48.4 million

A total of 36 Ferrari 250 GTOs were built. (Image credit: RM Sotheby's)

Racing success doesn't necessarily mean added value, because this 250 GTO with chassis number 3413GT has been a lifelong winner, but only in the Italian hill climb competition.

It was advertised in the 1962 Italian GT Championship by Edoardo Lualdi-Gabari, a driver without the profile or winning record of Stirling Moss or Lorenzo Bandini.

And yet, despite having no known racing victories or connections to famous drivers, this Ferrari sold at Sotheby's in 2018 for a staggering $48.4 million.

What makes it so valuable is that it is one of only four re-bodied 1964 cars from the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Scaglietti. 

It is also said to be one of the finest examples of the 250 GTO in nearly original condition.

3. Ferrari 1962 GTO 250 - $38.1 million

Prices for 250 GTOs started to skyrocket back in 2014. (Image credit: Bonhams' Quail Lodge)

The new 250 GTO originally cost $18,000, so why did it become the most expensive Ferrari in the world? 

It's hard to fully explain because, as we mentioned, it was not the most famous or successful racing car of a well-known company. 

But prices began to rise sharply with the sale of this particular car at the Bonhams' Quail Lodge auction in 2014. With someone willing to pay $38.1 million, it became the most expensive car in the world at the time, and two cars ahead of it on this list can thank him for making these cars such a great automotive investment.

4. 1957 Ferrari S '335 Scaglietti Spider - $35.7 million

A total of four 335 S Scaglietti Spider models were produced.

This amazing racing car has been driven by some of the sport's most famous personalities, including Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorne and Peter Collins. And now it belongs to an equally famous athlete - football superstar Lionel Messi.

He spent $35.7 million at an Artcurial Motorcars auction in Paris in 2016, but he can afford it as the Argentinean's career earnings are reportedly in excess of $1.2 billion.

He also has good taste because some consider the 335 S to be one of the most beautiful Ferraris ever made. The second part of the car's name and its entire appearance come from its designer.

The Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Scaglietti, headed by eponymous founder Sergio Scaglietti, became Ferrari's lead designer in the 1950s and produced several memorable cars that combined form and function.

The 335 S' goal was to beat the Maserati 450S in the 1957 racing season as the two Italian brands battled it out in F1 and sports car racing. It was equipped with a 4.1-liter V12 engine with 290 kW and a top speed of 300 km/h.

The reason Messi had to pay so much is because, on top of all his heritage, he is also rare. A total of four 335 S Scaglietti Spiders were made and one was destroyed in a fatal accident during the '57 Mille Miglia, the famous 1000-mile road race around Italy that was eventually canceled after an accident.

5. 1956 Ferrari 290 MM - $28.05 million

290mm sold for $28,050,000 at Sotheby's auction in 2015. (Image credit: Top Gear)

Speaking of the Mille Miglia, our next entry on the list was built primarily with this road race in mind - hence the "MM" in the title. 

Once again, Ferrari made very few examples, only four, and this particular car is owned by Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1956 Mille Miglia. 

The five-time Formula One champion finished fourth in the race as teammate Eugenio Castellotti won with his 1 MM car.

This car sold at Sotheby's in 2015 for $28,050,000, which may not be $250 GTO, but still not a bad amount for a 59 year old car at the time.

5. Ferrari 1967 GTB/275 NART Spider 4 years - $27.5 million

One of only 10.

The 275 GTB was a replacement for the 250 GTO, in production from 1964 to '68, several variants were built for road and track use. But this is a very limited edition US-only convertible that has become a real collector's item.

This car was one of 10 built specifically for the US market thanks to the efforts of Luigi Chinetti. You can't tell the Ferrari story without telling the Chinetti story.

He was a former Italian racing driver who emigrated to the US during World War II and helped Enzo Ferrari establish his lucrative business in the US, tapping into the unique tastes of the American audience and turning it into one of the brand's biggest markets.

Chinetti founded his own racing team, the North American Racing Team or NART for short, and also began racing Ferrari. 

In 1967, Chinetti managed to convince Enzo Ferrari and Sergio Scaglietti to build a special model for him, a convertible version of the 275 GTB/4. 

It was powered by the same 3.3kW 12L V223 engine as the rest of the 275 GTB range and the car was praised by the press when it arrived in the US.

Despite this, it did not sell very well at the time. Chinetti initially thought he could sell 25, but he only managed to sell 10. 

This was good news for at least one of those 10, because when this model on our list sold for $27.5 million in 2013, it was still in the hands of the same family as the original owner.

Considering it cost $14,400 at $67, the 275 GTB/4 NART Spider proved to be a smart investment.

And the buyer had no shortage of money, Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll. A renowned Ferrari collector who now owns a majority stake in Aston Martin and its F1 team.