Ferrari auctions first California for $520,000 at world premiere
09/23/2008, 12:29 PM
By Drew Johnson
Ferrari’s newest California hardtop convertible made its official debut last week, culminating in a weekend celebration taking place in both Maranello and Los Angeles. The latter was filled with the requisite celebrity appearances and even included the auctioning of one of the first California examples.
Held at a private airport in Santa Monica, the Ferrari California came under the gavel for a cool $520,000. While that price tag is a few more hundred thousand than the California will go for at your local Ferrari dealership, the proceeds went to a very worthy cause –After-School All-Stars. Ferrari has been heavily involved with the After-School All-Stars — an association that engages middle-school kids in activities that increase confidence and encourage success in all areas of their lives – and even governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by to acknowledge Ferrari’s donation.
09/23, 1:05 PM
posted by:
cdsmith
bailout money at work no doubt…
09/23, 1:43 PM
posted by:
6ix
“ONE” of the first, not “THE” first California. So what it makes it so special to be worth half a million?
09/23, 3:36 PM
posted by:
Z06ified
Hmmm, the first Corvette ZR-1 was auctioned off at $1 million for charity. I guess Ferrari’s don’t fetch as much as Corvettes anymore.
09/23, 3:45 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
Another car that I cant wait to see on Wreck Exotics…
09/23, 3:47 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
And you are telling me High Profile Celebrities get 1st debbs….
09/23, 3:47 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
LOL…
09/23, 4:02 PM
posted by:
DBro
I just registered in order to post about what “Z06ified” had to say. That’s laughable, this is Ferrari’s cheapest offering and it fetched that much. The cheapest Corvette basically looks just like the ZR1 and is probably made with the same components as a base-model Cobalt… That’s the difference. Just because they can make a fast car, doesn’t mean they pump out nice cars.
09/23, 7:40 PM
posted by:
nitinsharma1000
Well said DBro. I mean the ZR-1 is nice. But im not stupid that i will buy a 100,000 dollar car that has a worse quality interior than any of my cars. And changing colors DOES NOT MEAN NEW INTERIOR. If you put lipstick on a pig its still a pig. And I HATE OBAMA.
09/25, 11:30 AM
posted by:
Z06ified
DBro – lighten up, junior. My post was was somewhat in jest.
You however, revealed how ignorant you are. Go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under.
You say the ZR-1 is made from the same components as a base model Cobalt? Could you possibly make a more ignorant statement? Let’s see, the ZR-1 has an almost entire carbon fiber body, all aluminum frame, carbon ceramic brakes (with the largest rotors of any car in the world short of the Veyron), titanium engine internals, and I can go on. Hell, the ZR-1 has more expensive and more exotic components than most Ferrari models. It also happen to be faster around the Nurburgring than ANY Ferrari.
Sure, it’s not as exotic looking or as rare as many Ferrari’s, but from a performance perspective it is the king of the hill, and that is a fact. And it shares NOTHING with a Cobalt.
So get your facts straight, or stay on the porch.
09/25, 1:01 PM
posted by:
DBro
I almost didn’t do this, because I don’t live my life to own people, but I DO live my life to crush people who think Corvettes and Mustangs are cool: re-read what I said “The cheapest Corvette basically looks just like the ZR1 and is probably made with the same components as a base-model Cobalt…” I was comparing the cheapest Ferrari, which is still a great supercar, with the cheapest Corvette, which is a sellout piece of crap. No matter how fast any Corvette goes around a ring, it is still a Corvette, and I can see ten if I look across the street. But an Enzo, or a 599, or anything with the name plate, has integrity, and doesn’t spare any expense, and will always be superior in every single way.
09/27, 10:34 PM
posted by:
qpt_dude
I’m on Dbro’s side. The ZR1 may be made of carbon-fiber, titanium, and carbon ceramic, but thats all its worth. The whole cost of putting in all those materials makes up the whole MSRP. You put plastic, aluminum, and carbon composite in the place of those, and you end up with a normal Vette. Don’t get me wrong, I personally like Vettes, but I don’t think they’re worth more than 50. There’s no love, no personality in a Vette. Ferrari’s are beautiful, sleek and elegant. They say “Hello beautiful world, I’m a rich handmade bitch” while Vettes say “I hate all of you, never look at me again.” A Ferrari has grace and an awesome presence. A Corvette has the grace of a sweaty person and the presence of a shiny new toilet. While it was built strictly for performance, the Ferrari was built for comfort and beauty too. Even though the ZR1 auctioned for $1m, its not even worth the MSRP $100k. The interior is about as fine as the 98 SL600 sitting in my garage. The California only auctioned for $520k becasue it was a PRIVATE
09/27, 10:36 PM
posted by:
qpt_dude
^^ whoops.
auction. And the auctions were based only one person’s desires. Once Californias start selling, they’ll be selling respectively 3x more than the ZR1.
10/02, 1:10 PM
posted by:
sakimano
The California is ugly
the rear single tail lights look too small and don’t fit the BIG swoopy lines on the car. The ugly stacked exhaust pipes are an awful rip-off of the Lexus IS-F’s WORST feature.
I hate Corvettes with the best of them, and I love Ferraris, but I would rather have a ZR-1 (and life insurance for the certain death the underengineered Chevy would give me) than spend $200,000 on this ugly under-steering Mondial remake.