Getting your hands on a special edition Ferrari is not as simple as showing up with a large check, though it goes without saying that’s mandatory. Prices for the Ferrari 812 Competizione, for example, started at around $700,000 when the car was launched. In under three years, examples began trading well above $2 million.
Now, RM Sotheby’s is offering a particularly notable 812 Competizione A with just 80 miles on the clock, with estimates ranging between $2.5 million and $2.8 million, despite the original owner paying $852,420 to configure it. That is a near quadrupling of value in an extraordinarily short window.
The 812 Competizione is one of the last truly pure expressions of Ferrari’s front-engined V12 philosophy. Limited to just 999 coupes worldwide, it produces 819 horsepower from a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12, revving to a stratospheric 9,500 rpm and hitting 62 mph in 2.85 seconds on the way to a 211 mph top speed.
There’s no hybrid assistance, no forced induction lag, just a raw, screaming internal combustion engine at its absolute peak. Ferrari had essentially said this is as far as the naturally-aspirated V12 formula would go, which is precisely why collectors went into a frenzy.
Ferrari runs one of the most exclusive buyer ecosystems in the automotive world, and the deeper you want to go, the more hoops you have to jump through. For standard production models like the Roma or Portofino, a qualified buyer can usually get through the door. But for something like the 812 Competizione, you need to have proven yourself as a loyal customer first, often purchasing several regular models over years before you are even considered for an invitation. Some reports suggest you need to own at least four Ferraris before being placed on the VIP shortlist for a special edition. However, even that “burden” has turned into a financial win for those who played the long game.
One owner recently walked away from an auction bid of $1.625 million, choosing to hold rather than sell, believing values still have room to climb. It is a bold calculation, but not an unreasonable one. When you consider that the prerequisite Ferraris purchased along the road to eligibility have also appreciated significantly, the buyers who stuck with the brand have not just broken even on the journey, they have been quietly building a portfolio worth multiples of what they spent. Ferrari gatekeeps access, that is true. But for the patient and the loyal, that gate has opened into something extraordinary.
[All images by RM Sotheby’s]