FERRARI TO AUCTION FIRST F12BERLINETTA TO BENEFIT HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF EFFORT

Just got my "invitation" also. It will be interesting to see what this goes for.

 

o Availability of Special Options

Great way to get those sport racing seats optioned with 'daytona' seat trim...
CH

 

First 458 coupe went for 500K. I was there.

 

Gawd I love the F12. $500k+ will make the American Red Cross' day. Great job Ferrari.

-F

 

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/ferrari-to-auction-f12-berlinetta-for-hurricane-relief/?smid=tw-nytimeswheels&seid

 

I'd be willing it goes for big bucks! What amazes me about the story you linked was the ending...

"Ferrari joins a long list of automakers that have contributed to hurricane relief. Among them:

• BMW of North America donated $1 million to the American Red Cross.
• Chrysler‘s Ram brand gave $100,000 and 20 Ram 1500 Tradesman trucks to the American Red Cross.
• Ford has donated $50,000 to the American Red Cross through its Red Cross Disaster Responder Program.
• General Motors gave 50 Chevy Silverado full-size pickups and Express cargo vans to the Red Cross and the GM Foundation contributed $250,000 to the Red Cross Disaster Responder Program.
• Hyundai is giving $500,000 to the American Red Cross.
• Mazda contributed $100,000 to the Red Cross and made $5,000 grants to two food banks.
• Mercedes-Benz donated $1 million to the Red Cross.
• Toyota gave $1 million to the Red Cross.
• Volkswagen contributed $500,000 to the Red Cross through its Volkswagen of America Foundation."


How come this kind of thing doesn't make the headlines? Don't want to take this P&R though. Good on all of them for helping out!!

 

The auction is for the "right to buy the first F12", but you still need to pony up and buy the car for full cost after you win. Red Cross will get the full amount of the bid for the right to buy the car, but not the price of the car itself.

Still a fun event and worthy cause.

 

You ask "How come this kind of thing doesn't make the headlines?"

Answer: Evil corporations cheated to make this money in the first place. Their executives make too much money. They laid people off and exported the jobs, don't you know?

 

So... in effect a "call option"?

 

Perhaps you contacted your dealer and have some additional insight that I do not, but the invitation seems to describe that the winning auction bid buys an actual car. I say this based on my reading of the invitation only. The invitation actually states that the winning vehicle will come in Rosso Berlinetta exterior color and the choice of one of two available interior colors, amongst other unique options. If one was actually bidding solely on the "right" to purchase the first F12, you'd think that it would be fully customizable.

 

For those interested in bidding on the first F12, one item at the bottom of the invitation email struck me as interesting. It says, "This purchase is not tax deductible except for any amount above the retail value of the vehicle."

I'm not an accountant, but doesn't that mean that for those of us Ferrari fanatics (who don't have high allocation slots) ready and willing to take it on the chin whenever we opt to pay tens of thousands over MSRP for the privilege of getting into the "very lightly used" new models, this time paying over MSRP can actually result in the excess being categorized as a charitable-giving tax deduction? I'm sure there are others besides me who have tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to obtain depreciation offsets for the Ferrari as farm equipment, but the tax benefits of this particular auction seems much more likely to work!

Please don't construe this post as tax or legal advise -- I'm the last person you'd want to seek out for such advise (as evidenced by the Ferrari as farm equipment hail Mary).

 

I think thats basically right. If the winning bid is, say, $500k, and if the value of the vehicle is $350, the winner would have a $150k contribution to the American Red Cross.

Thats what I think. But I don't know.

Nice move by Ferrari to help out.

 

Yes. The deduction will be straightforward and legal. The contribution is defined as what you paid minus value received. Presumably value received is MSRP.

One question I have is whether one might expect this particular F12 to be more valuable down the road because of its history, being the first one, and the signatures etc.

 

They must be Republican? Reality, at least these corporations made donations! That is all that matters. I do not look a gift horse in the mouth, unless I am a dentist.

 

It would be interesting to know if the car will be displayed at COTA prior to the actual auction.

 

I was just up at the dealership (LFSC) and no one there seems to know anything more than what was sent in the PR/email blast. We will be there this weekend, looking for a way into the auction, simply so we can see this beast in the flesh. I'll remember to keep my hands firmly in my pockets if we manage to stick around when the bidding starts...

 

I agree, you never read about these things in the newspapers. Instead you will find out exactly how someone beat up an old lady or that 10 people died in yet another car bombing in a religous war somewhere..

I should start a news channel with only happy news...
Maybe the F12 auction could be my first story!! =)

 

I'm going to try and be there as well, if I see you across the room, I'll wave. Hopefully I don't have to sell a kidney due to random hand movements.

 

Anybody know how much the F12 went for?

 

$1.125M

 

See they really are pricing them too cheap at the dealership...
CH

 

Of the proceeds go to charity is that a tax write off?