You Get One More Chance To Put A Ferrari Sergio In Your Driveway

Remember the Ferrari Sergio – no, not our Sergiu? Pininfarina unveiled it as a concept in 2013, and put it into production two years later. Only by “production,” we mean very limited. Just six examples were built, and they all sold out pretty quick.

If you weren’t among those six fortunate buyers, and wish that you had been, we have good news: there’s one coming up for auction. And it just so happens to be the very one that Pininfarina showcased at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

A tribute to the famed designer

The vehicle was designed as a tribute to the late Sergio Pininfarina, the head of the studio (and son of its founder). The senator had just passed away, at 85 years old, less than a year before the concept was unveiled. This was how the famed carrozzeria mourned his passing, while marking its own 85th anniversary and 60 years of collaboration with Ferrari.

The Sergio was based on the 458 Spider. It also retained the 458’s high-revving 4.5-liter V8, but not in standard guise. Instead the Sergio got the version from the 458 Speciale, with 597 horsepower (605 ps/445 kW) instead of “only 562 hp (570 ps/419 kW). It was the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 Ferrari ever made, and possibly will ever make now that the 488 has switched to twin turbochargers.

Over those components, Ferrari’s longtime design partner laid custom bodywork that was far more fantastic. The production version had to be toned down a bit, with creature comforts like, you know… and actual windscreen. But while it may not have been as extreme as the conceptual speedster, the overall design theme carried through.

This is the first one ever to be auctioned

This example appears to have been built for one Aluko Kolawole, a Nigerian oil magnate who was being investigated by US authorities for fraud and money laundering. With the Department of Justice seeking to seize his assets, the car (or one just like it) showed up for sale last year in the Netherlands. But now it’s coming up for auction. And it’ll be the first time one of them has.

So if you were pleased with how the concept translated to “production,” and have a few million to spare, Monaco will be the place to be next month. That’s where RM Sotheby’s will sell it to the highest bidder.

The auction house estimates it will sell for between €2.5 and 3 million (or about $3-3.7m at current exchange rates), which is a fair bit less than the €4.3 million ($5m+) it was last listed for. Since it’s coming from outside Europe, however, it will be subject to VAT, which in Monaco is applied at the same 20-percent rate as in France. So if the hammer drops at the high end of its estimated value, the winning bidder could be looking at a good $4.5 million when all’s said and done.

Photos by Dirk de Jager, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s