Ferrari’s First EV Sells for Record $40 Million at Auction

The Luce drew criticism after its May debut but fetched a record price for a new car at a charity auction.

Ferrari's first fully electric car "Luce" after the luxury sports car maker unveiled the model on May 25, 2026. Ferrari/Handout via Reuters

A one-of-a-kind version of Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle has sold for $40 million at a charity auction, setting a record for the highest price paid for a new car at auction.

The “Tailor Made” Ferrari Luce was sold Saturday during Monterey Car Week in California, according to RM Sotheby’s. Ferrari’s Tailor Made program allows customers to personalize vehicles to their preferred specifications.

The $40 million winning bid was more than 35 times the auction house’s original estimate of $1.1 million.

RM Sotheby’s said all proceeds from the sale will be donated to educational programs supported by the Ferrari Foundation. The auction house did not identify the buyer.

“The bids kept climbing. Then, history was made,” Ferrari USA wrote Sunday on Instagram, adding that the sale set “a new record for the highest-priced new car ever sold at auction.”

The auction came nearly three months after Ferrari unveiled the Luce—the name means “light” in Italian—a four-door, five-seat EV that marks a sharp departure from the two-door, two-seat combustion-engine sports cars traditionally associated with the brand.

Designed with input from former Apple design chief Jony Ive and Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, the Luce has an upper body dominated by glass, while its aluminum exterior and minimalist interior emphasize rounded forms that contrast with Ferrari’s long-established aggressive styling.

The car carries a starting price of 550,000 euros, or about $640,000.

The unveiling marked the Italian sports-car maker’s first entry into an EV market dominated by Elon Musk’s Tesla and a growing number of Chinese brands. Ferrari shares fell the day after the Luce’s debut, however, amid skepticism of both the vehicle’s design and the company’s move into fully electric cars.

The Luce sold by RM Sotheby’s, known as “Chassis 0,” features an exclusive pearl-like, semi-gloss exterior finish created with a custom pigment.

Depending on how light strikes the surface, the finish produces shifting reflections ranging from green to violet, the auction house said.

Its interior also features a custom material known as Perla Le Mans metallic leather, with distinctive black accents set against a predominantly white cabin.

RM Sotheby’s described the auction as an “unrepeatable opportunity” to acquire the first production example of the Luce.

Following the sale, the vehicle will return to Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello, Italy, where it was built, before being delivered to the unnamed buyer in the first quarter of 2027, according to the auction house.