This Is The Billionaire Who Dropped $40 Million On Ferrari’s First EV
Herbie Wertheim’s record $40 million bid for Ferrari Luce Chassis 0 turns the first electric halo car into an instant piece of Maranello lore.
THE BREAKDOWN
- Herbie Wertheim bought Ferrari Luce "Chassis 0" at RM Sotheby's Monterey auction.
- Chassis 0 is the first chassis of Ferrari's Luce, the brand's first battery-electric model, finished as a Tailor Made one-off.
- The $40 million hammer set a record for the most expensive brand-new car sold at auction.
Herbie Wertheim just wrote a $40 million check that jolted the Ferrari world. At Monterey, the billionaire businessman committed that sum for Ferrari’s Luce "Chassis 0," turning an already hyped electric vehicle into the most expensive brand-new car ever sold at auction.
The car is a one-off showcase for Ferrari’s electric future, but the buyer and the number on the board are what pushed this sale into collector folklore. For Ferrari history buffs, this is the moment when a single chassis, built before any customer cars, became its own chapter in Maranello mythology.
Chassis 0 And The Record Sale
The Luce is Ferrari’s first battery-electric model, and Chassis 0 is the first production chassis out of the program, treated as a one-off by Ferrari’s Tailor Made team and design center. It crossed the block during Monterey Car Week at an RM Sotheby’s sale, with all proceeds pledged to education work through the Ferrari Foundation.
Ferrari already previewed the Luce as a stylish, high-performance EV, but Chassis 0 sits outside the normal order book as a halo build with bespoke materials and details for one of its most serious clients. Earlier this year Ferrari confirmed the broader Luce range, outlining Luce specs, price expectations, and its debut timing to show this is not just a design exercise.
The hammer price beat Ferrari’s internal expectations and topped the previous mark for a new car sold at auction, surpassing the sum raised by a one-off Daytona SP3 charity car in 2025. With Luce EV build slots effectively sold out before most people see one in person, this first chassis looked like a once-only shot to bidders chasing bragging rights.
Dr Herbert Wertheim and his Ferrari SP3 Daytona with Enrico Galliera, Ferrari Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer
Who Is Herbie Wertheim
Herbert "Herbie" Wertheim is a billionaire investor and philanthropist known for early stakes in companies like Apple and Microsoft. He has funded universities and medical research for years, so a charity-focused Ferrari sale fits his pattern of mixing passion buys with giving.
One-off and first-chassis Ferraris now live in their own tier of the market. Heritage models like the 250 GTO already sit on a different planet, as seen every time a rare Ferrari 250 GTO heads to auction. Chassis 0 adds something modern, serving as both the first example of Ferrari’s EV era and a bespoke Tailor Made object that collectors see as a future reference-point car.
Line this sale up with other hero Ferraris that have crossed the block in Monterey, from the 288 GTO offered alongside Luce-related lots to a rare 1958 Ferrari 250 GT, and the pattern is clear. The very first or very last examples that mark a turning point for the brand draw buyers who want a page of Ferrari history, not just a fast car for Sunday drives.
Motor1's Take: The sale shows how collectors now treat the EV transition, with provenance and first-chassis status carrying the same cachet in the electric era as they did for classic Ferraris while the market will show whether this becomes a new norm for halo EVs or stays a headline one-off.
Gallery: Ferrari Luce Auctioned By RM Sotheby's
More On The Luce:
Source: supercarsfor.sale (Instagram) via TheSupercarBlog
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