Mike Tyson’s former Ferrari F50 sells for nearly R80m

A 1995 Ferrari F50 once owned by Mike Tyson was sold for $4.625m (R79m) to an unnamed buyer at this past weekend’s Pebble Beach auction in the US.

With only 359 units built, the F50 is a rare car to start with, but this particular example’s association with the former heavyweight boxing champion elevated its value. Auctioneers Gooding & Company said the car, which had around 10,000km on the odometer, was bought new by Tyson in 1995. He owned it for four years before reselling it.

Over the past two decades, the F50 has come to be regarded as the most collectible Ferrari supercar, as it is the only model in the evolution from 288 GTO to LaFerrari that features the unique combination of a naturally-aspirated V12 engine, six-speed manual gearbox, Pininfarina-designed bodywork, and an exhilarating open-air driving experience.

The F50 is powered by a 4.7l mid-mounted engine mustering 382kW of power at a high-revving 8,500rpm, feeding the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transaxle with limited-slip differential.

Built around a lightweight carbon fibre tub, the two-seater scorched from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds and reached a top speed of 325km/h.

Held on August 19 and 20 at the world-renowned annual Pebble Beach Concours, the Gooding & Company car auction fetched $105,824,870 in its sale of rare and exotic classics. The highest price achieved was $10.34m (R176m) for a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante. The beautiful two-seater was the pinnacle Bugatti of its era and its 3.3l supercharged eight cylinder engine made it one of the fastest production cars built before WWII.

Other notable sales included a 1961 Ferrari 400 SuperAmerica ($6m), a 2007 Porsche RS Spyder Evo ($5.6m), an 1969 Porsche 908/02 ($4.18m) and a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Sport Cabriolet ($3.08m).