Making Sense of $43 Million at Maranello

Buyers will pay over the odds for a perfect, no stories road car just to feel they have the best available

by Simon Kidston

Machiavelli was Italian. So were Mussolini and Enzo Ferrari (not that I’m comparing them). And although he isn’t, Scuderia Ferrari’s director Jean Todt has probably lived there long enough to qualify. I grew up in Italy, and sometimes even I find it hard to decipher Italian political and business situations. But that’s part of the country’s romance and charm, especially if you’re more interested in food and art than contracts and delivery dates.

So it’s been interesting watching how master dealmaker RM Auctions has fared in its partnership with arch-Italians Ferrari since 2007, when they began jointly hosting Italy’s first serious classic car auction, devoted of course to the cars of the Prancing Horse.

Last year’s auction, before most people had heard the words “credit crunch” or “sub-prime,” was a runaway success, with all lots except one (an F40 prototype whose owner must have felt rather conspicuous) hammered sold. The result was a colossal...