I'd guess it is a scam if he's asking 3 hundy plus and all he posts are two lousy pics, with one of them sideways no less!!!
Posted in "fave 550/575/456" thread already but perhaps belongs here. This is a 550 World Record car apparently. I saw it at a classic car show in London. I dont know anything about this particular series or how rare it is, the Dutch dealer wanted 400,000 euros ! Image Unavailable, Please Login
If it's a WSR it's one of 33. It's LHD, making it one of 23 LHD. That's the facts, as to merits of WSR I will leave to others..
On another note: There are no fewer than four 550 Barchettas currently advertised in the UK via just one site, Pistonheads, and all four are up for exactly the same price, of £400,000 (around 650k USD). Like a cartel.
Wish I had the means a few years ago. I'd be a happier man http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/456-550-575-sponsored-bradan/328370-beater-550-a.html
I know a couple of people who have a Ferrari under wraps for investment and another of the same model, higher mileage, for driving. Doesn't make them bad people. Maybe smart people.. I think this applies to the 550 right now, as the price delta between a good and an A1 car increases. This is an issue with modern Ferraris, made in quite high numbers (3083 550 Maranellos), where the rarity comes from miles/condition. Mine has just 4000 miles. Would I drive it more if it had 40,000? Probably. So I have a couple of other Ferraris to share the miles. You had it spot on back in 2011, in my view.
I don't think this is a WSR. There were no black WSR's made; only two Blue ones (one with cream interior, the other with red). The 575 wheels suggest to me that if this car has a roll cage it is a WSR/ Schumacher spec car. 400K Euro may seem absurd now (for a genuine WSR) but that may be the WSR going price by 2017. In the UK (in GPB) the current price is 180-190GBP (virtually $300,000). There are fewer of these cars than GTO250's (which of course have a race history). The GTO250 started out at $16,000; and recent sales of WSRs appear to be tracking the GTO250 appreciation in the mid-1970's (apx 15 years after manufacture...right where the WSR cars are now ). The WSR is -the- defining 550 Maranello coupe.
Those are Barchetta/550 18" wheels, not 575M 19" wheels. Comparing 250 GTOs to 550 WSRs is absurd. Just about everything on the WSR 550s was available as a regular option on standard 550s.
Comparing the two model's resale price-appreciation history may not be absurd at all due to supply and demand (even without the GTO 250's racing "heritage", the 550 WSR defined the final iteration of the 20th Century Ferrari V12: running flat out for an hour.) The 550 WSR will appeal to the new generation of collectors, bent on having "old school" in the more affordable mid-high six figure range of pricing. Who wants an ordinary example of what may actually be the best Ferrari V12 GT car on Earth- when for say $600,000 (by 2018 or so) one can have 1/33 examples...and talk about a speed record that still stands to my knowledge.
By 2018? Better tell the Fed to change course then, because given they've decided to pull right back from the era of free money, 2016 will see a reset, with the emphasis on credible values not puffed values. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see my cars continue to climb - including my 550 - but a few sharks are being jumped right now, including the WSR and the ridiculously bloated priced 599 Alonso.
George- As investments, 250 GTO and 550 WSR do not belong in the same sentence. World of difference between an option package with no drivetrain improvements and a limited hand-built chassis/body combination with a world-class racing record. The Prodrive 550 GTS comes a lot closer to being an investment than the WSRs, even if they are pure race cars.
Terry, exactly my opinion as well. Yesterday I visited the Enzo Ferrari museum in Modena, where one Prodrive Maranello has been on display. Same basic shape than or ars but in detail completely different..... Saluti, Jürgen
I agree. WSR is a prime example of modern classics 'manufactured rarity', closer to a special edition Ford with all the trimmings than a real limited numbers car with mechanical or physical uniqueness. A creature of marketing.
I have just found an email exchange I had with with Jarno Eberlein, one of the principals of the eponymous and respected Ferrari dealership in Kassel, Germany, in September 2014. I was enquiring about a very nice Grigio Titanio with red leather 550 with 50k km (around 30k miles). Price was 55,000 euros (from a main dealer not known for its low prices); I didn't take it in the end because I wanted a lower miles example. That car now, between two and three times that, in just over a year.
A lot of classic cars took a beating when 2008 recession hit. These mass produced cars will likely see a major correction in the near future in my opinion. This is why I prefer higher mileage but well taken care of cars. You get to enjoy them without having to think about value appreciation or depreciation for a second. They're cars at the end of the day. Meant to be enjoyed...you're not taking them with you when you kick the bucket.
