LaFerrari

Make
Ferrari
Segment
Coupe

Ferrari is the first and last name in the world of supercars. This famous Italian supercar manufacturer has built some of the world's most iconic cars, including the Ferrari F40, Testarossa, and 'The Ferrari'. That's right; The Ferrari. The LaFerrari, meaning "The Ferrari'' in Italian, is one of the most important cars the brand has ever built, and its first-ever hybrid vehicle long before the SF90 Stradale came along. This magnificent piece of engineering was built around the lessons learnt from the FXX development prototype, and was unveiled at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show. Within months after the show, the LaFerrari was competing against the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder, but before production began, Ferrari used test mules to refine new tech. Typically, these get sent to the crusher after development concludes, but one lucky soul now has the opportunity to buy one that somehow escaped that fate.

RM Sotheby's recently listed this 2012 Ferrari LaFerrari Prototype as part of its upcoming Monaco auction in May. Known as project code "F150" the LaFerrari started out life as the "M6" prototype, a car derived from the Ferrari 458 Italia, or Type F142 platform. A quick glance shows that this LaFerrari prototype shares a lot of commonalities with the 458, including its side panels and side-mounted air-scoops. The platform was modified to accommodate the LaFerrari's hybrid powertrain, with this particular mule using a Type F140FB V12 engine - a 6.0-liter naturally aspirated V12 - as opposed to the production car's Type F140FE 6.3-liter motor. This specific mule was used for testing between May 2011 and December 2012 and focused mainly on testing mechanical components such as braking, steering and suspension, and tires. It was also used to test the electronic stability program, and eventually the all-important hybrid system.

Once Ferrari was satisfied with the development stages of the LaFerrari project, it started to offer these test mules for sale. This example was sold to a private collector in 2016 with the understanding that it could never be registered as a road car, nor used on a public race track. This ultra-exclusive test mule features a Pelle Beige interior, hand-written marker annotations, hand-cut body panels, exposed wiring, and an odometer reading of 3,322 km (2,064 miles). It even comes with all the camo cladding that was used to disguise the car during development.

Interestingly, the LaFerrari was the first Ferrari vehicle since the Dino 308 GT4 not to wear a Pininfarina design. Only 500 examples of the LaFerrari were ever produced, with a further 210 open-top Aperta models following soon after, but there are only a handful of these prototypes around. That makes this one fo the most exclusive Ferraris money can buy, even if you can't ever really drive it anywhere.