Ferrari’s first electric car sells for $40 million at auction, nearly 40 times its $1.1 million estimate

Ferrari’s first fully electric car has commanded a record price at auction, with a one-off example selling for $40 million at a charity event in Monterey, California, as per TOI.

The bespoke 2026 Ferrari Luce, known as “Chassis 0” and described by the automaker as the first production chassis of its electric-car programme, was sold at an RM Sotheby’s auction on Saturday. The final price was nearly 40 times the car’s initial estimate of $1.1 million.

The auction house waived its buyer’s premium, allowing the full $40 million proceeds to go to The Ferrari Foundation. The foundation plans to use the money to support future educational initiatives.


The buyer, however, will have to wait to take possession. Delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, with the car expected to return to Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello before being handed over.

Ferrari Luce sets new auction record

The sale puts the Luce at the top of the auction market for new cars, surpassing the previous record of $26 million paid in 2025 for a customised Ferrari Daytona SP3.

The result also gives Ferrari’s first EV a remarkable start amid debate over the brand’s move away from its traditional combustion-engine sports cars.

Ferrari unveiled the Luce in May with a starting price of €550,000, equivalent to about $636,356. The model was developed with LoveFrom, the design studio founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

The auction car was built through Ferrari’s Tailor Made programme and given a bespoke treatment centred on the theme of light. Its Madreperla Semi-Gloss exterior uses a special pigment that changes between green and violet depending on the angle and intensity of light.

The cabin is finished in Perla Le Mans metallic leather made from selected Swiss hides, while elements normally presented in black use Grigio Corvara instead. The car also receives customised wheels, bespoke brake calipers and a Ferrari badge against an optical-white background.

Ferrari says the complexity of the paint process means no two examples will look exactly alike.

But the car’s biggest point of distinction is its identity as “Chassis 0”, giving the buyer what Ferrari describes as the first production chassis in the Luce programme and a unique place in the company’s transition into electric vehicles.

Four electric motors deliver 1,050 cv

The Luce uses four electric motors, with one powering each wheel. The system produces 1,050 cv and enables the car to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds.

It has a claimed top speed of 310 km/h and a range of 530 kilometres. The car is equipped with a 122 kWh battery and an 800-volt electrical architecture, while its kerb weight is 2,260 kg.

Ferrari describes the Luce as a five-seat, four-door hatchback designed to combine practicality with the performance expected from the marque.

A new vehicle control unit links the car’s various systems, with control targets updated 200 times a second. The front motors deliver 210 kW at the axle, while the rear motors produce 620 kW.

Ferrari tries to preserve its driving character

Beyond outright performance, Ferrari has sought to make the Luce feel recognisably like one of its cars despite its electric powertrain.

The EV uses a separately elastically mounted subframe, a first for Ferrari that the company says helps minimise unwanted vibrations. A precision accelerometer positioned at the centre of the rear axle monitors the natural frequencies generated by rotating components.

Those frequencies are processed to create a sound intended to evoke Ferrari’s traditional engines. The approach, Ferrari says, is similar to the way an electric guitar produces sound.

The Luce also gets a Torque Shift Engagement system designed to progressively deliver torque while cornering. Its e-manettino system controls power, torque curves, traction and performance through Range, Tour and Performance modes.

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said after the car was unveiled that it had already attracted interest from both existing Ferrari owners and new customers.

“The Ferrari Luce has nothing to do with electric cars you have seen from other players,” Vigna said in May, adding that customers would need to see and drive the car to understand how distinct its design, performance and interior are.

With the $40 million auction result, Ferrari’s first EV has established an extraordinary valuation even before reaching its first customer, while simultaneously raising money for the Ferrari Foundation’s educational initiatives.

With inputs from TOI