500th LaFerrari fetches record-breaking £5.5million at auction

The 500th LaFerrari has been sold at auction, with the £5.5 million proceeds from the sale going to the victims of the Italian earthquake earlier this year.

The sale price makes it the most expensive 21st century car sold at auction. All of the money raised will go to the earthquake victims, with auctioneer Southeby waiving its fee in order to help the cause.

The 950bhp LaFerrari finished its 499-unit production run in 2015, but one extra model was subsequently produced. With such a small production number, examples of LaFerrari that make it onto the used market carry a heavy premium over the car’s £1.15m list price.

Used examples currently sell for between £2.5m and £3m, and it was predicted that the value of the 500th LaFerrari would exceed this considerably. A source at Ferrari said the original demand for LaFerrari was more than double the supply, and that this would be the final opportunity for a buyer to own a LaFerrari from new.

The drop-top LaFerrari, named Aperta, was revealed at the Paris motor show earlier this year, but the 500th LaFerrari was the very last coupé version built.

The car was sold to raise money for victims of the earthquake in central Italy earlier this year, which struck on 24 August and claimed the lives of hundreds while leaving thousands more homeless.

The Ferrari LaFerrari makes it onto our top 15 fastest cars in the world list. Get the full list here

Each standard LaFerrari carries a plaque bearing the words ‘Limited edition [car number]/499’, or the car’s number in the production run. The 500th example carries a plaque denoting its special status as the very final example.

Ferrari previously auctioned an Enzo following the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. That car carried a similar plaque and was finished in red with a white stripe and an Italian flag on the nose.