A Southern California collector has paid $2,425,000 for a Ferrari that cannot be registered or legally driven on American roads, underscoring the growing appetite for rare automotive history over everyday usability.
The buyer, Los Angeles jewelry entrepreneur David Lee, acquired the car through RM Sotheby’s. Known for maintaining one of the country’s most prominent Ferrari collections, Lee added what may be one of the most unusual examples yet: an internal development prototype for the LaFerrari hypercar.
Unlike the production LaFerrari revealed at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, this pre-production model does not feature the hybrid system that defined the road-going version. The production car paired a naturally aspirated 6.3-liter V12 engine with Ferrari’s HY-KERS electric system, delivering a combined 950 horsepower. Ferrari limited coupe production to 499 units between 2013 and 2016 and later introduced 210 Aperta convertibles. Original pricing was around $1.4 million, and current values for coupes hover near $3.5 million, with Aperta models commanding significantly more.
The prototype Lee purchased was part of Ferrari’s internal F150 development program and reportedly logged more than 34,000 miles during testing. Engineers used it to calibrate systems ahead of the LaFerrari’s global debut. Although it carries production-style bodywork finished in Rosso with exposed carbon fiber elements, it remains wrapped in camouflage and was never homologated for road use in the United States.
In 2022, Ferrari issued the car a Classiche certification, often referred to as the Yellow Book, confirming its historical importance despite its non-road-legal status.
For Lee, exclusivity has long been central to his collecting philosophy. He owns dozens of Ferraris and is known for pursuing limited-production halo models typically offered only to the brand’s most loyal clients. After previously missing out on the LaFerrari Aperta and later securing one in 2022, Lee’s latest acquisition adds a different kind of rarity to his garage: a machine valued not for where it can go, but for the role it played in Ferrari’s engineering history.
Image Via RM Sotheby’s
Eve Nowell