Speciale Collectability

I'm guestimating about 600 or so Speciales in the US. Fairly small number. How much are Enzos going for nowadays? $3M or so? I think LaF are already $4M or so. Too rich for my blood I won't be surprised if Speciales creep up in value over the years.

 

Interesting, that's about how many CGT's there are in the U.S. Those have appreciated....


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IMO the 458 Speciale has the potential for a collector's item. Apart from the high production figures, this car is in many aspects unique.

The 488GTB has definitely not this potential, or is someone interested in collecting an 458 Italia?

With the 488"GTO" it will looks slightly different. I'm sure Ferrari will deeply impress the automotive world with its last "pure combustion engine" super car.

 

I hope so as I am no 2. at my dealer for one.

BTW: I think it will look very different just as the 458 and Speciale look very different

 

My feeling tells me, you did the right thing!

 

I was actually going to ask what you guys think which one will hold its value better:

A one-of-a-kind, completely packed with options Italia, with carbon fiber coming through every pore, etc - Versus - A basic, bare to the bone Speciale, rosso corsa with NART stripes (aprox. 75% of production).

But as it is, Daniel already answered that.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

As time goes, everything becomes a collector's item - but rarity is adding value.
An F40 is more valued but people also buy testarossa as collector's cars.
However a funny side effect of "commonality" is that widely produced cars become rarer because at some point nobody cares about them, so that in the end the difference in exclusivity remains but is reduced.
Comparing production numbers, the number of 458 exceeds 500 times the number of 250 GTO, but twenty years from now all the GTO will still exist while the number of 458 will have been sigificantly reduced (obviously there will still be many more 458 than 250 GTO, but far less than 500 for 1).

 

The irony or “imprisonment” of collectability is that the rarest, most collectible cars are those whose driving dynamics are best, but if you actually drive them, they will decline in value relative to their non-driven peers. So getting a Speciale over an Italia will likely be a better financial move in terms of relative depreciation percentages, but only if you don’t drive it much. If you enjoy driving, you are probably better off acquiring a used Italia.


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General rule of any car, not just Ferrari: options do not hold value. Especially so for cosmetic options such as carbon fiber.

Of course, every brand has exceptions, such as a Porsche’s front lifter or a Ferrari’s scuderia shield.

I actually expect the Italia in your example to hold value worse than a low optioned Italia, let alone a Speciale.

 

It's a game of pure perception; Speciale came after the 458 Italia, it's perceived to be (and agreed to be, in most cases) a better, and certainly more rare, car. Those 2 factors alone lend favor to the Speciale. Same goes for almost any model succession within a model range.

Like obbob has said, options don't hold value, period. I'm willing to bet that a red/tan basically optioned 458 (lift, cf drivers area, daytona's) would hold more relative value than your example. The same argument applies to the Speciale, a basic optioned car will retain it's value better than an optioned car. Hell, the thing base stickered for $288k, you find a low $300's sticker car and it's super safe for the immediate, and long term future (maybe not mid-term, but hey.., can't have everything).

 

Hmmm, I must just be a different type of Ferrari owner/buyer because I wouldn’t buy a poorly or plainly optioned Speciale just because it was cheaper (i.e. options do hold value to me, a lot of value). For example show a Speciale and see how many people say “man I love the black plastic in the engine bay”. Instead people are very vocal regarding my engine bay partially because the carbon fiber side panels just add value to the exotic appearance as do the many other carbon fiber options on the car. I also believe functional options (in contrast to aesthetic options like carbon fiber) like the front lift (which I use all the time!) also add tremendous usability value for me. Relative value in my opinion is much more than just cost as I believe usability and exotic look and feel need to be taken into consideration.


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Speciale drives better, couldn't care less about options personally especially carbon fiber which saves little to no weight

lets not forget that many Speciales have lots of options because Ferrari told customers they could only order a car if they spent 50k+ on options

 

If there weren't different types of buyers, there wouldn't be such eclectically optioned Ferrari's. We also aren't talking well optioned cars in the same range, the example was a base well optioned 458 vs. a low optioned Speciale, of course a better optioned car would resell for more than a low optioned version of the same car.

 

A more highly optioned car will command a higher resale value. However, the key thing is that it will command a smaller percentage of its MSRP in resale.

For example: a low spec $310K MSRP Speciale will still probably fetch $340 at least (10% over sticker).

A loaded to the top Speciale with $390k MSRP will likely fetch $400K max in today’s market, probably less.

 

Very good debate and very balanced and sound posts, thanks guys.

Indeed I agree that a Speciale (any spec) will be more desirable and hold its value better than any Italia and, applying the same logic, a very well optioned Italia will always command a premium over a basic, bare-to-the-bone Italia.

Don't know if we can base ourselves in the recent past to properly evaluate or predict what will happen with the Speciale in terms of collectability and value, but looking back at the Scuderia, I found something curious (VERY market-dependable, talking about continental Europe in this instance):

Scuderia prices have fallen all the way to 150-170k Euro, and the gap between the ordinary F430 and its "beefed up" counterpart is around 50-70k Euro (not difficult at all to find a very nice F430 in the 100-110k Euro region or lower, if you buy from a private individual).

Speciale prices in the same geographical zone remain loosely between 300k and 350k, while Italias trade at around half that. The gap is much, much bigger between an Italia and a Speciale, than between an F430 and a Scuderia. A question of the cars' age alone, perhaps? What could account for such a gap and will it continue to grow or shorten as time goes by, by the time Italias and Speciales are 10-15 years old?

It's not just the matter of the Speciale may plateau at a higher price point than the Scuderia before it did. But the gap between the normal version and the special version is much bigger nowadays. I'm left scratching my head.

What do you guys think?

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

There are many factors at play so it's really difficult to understand how the prices establish (in the end it's about supply and demand, but the demand side is very difficult to rationalise, let alone predict).
A Challenge Stradale is typically more than twice the price of a 360 Modena (with the CS at 180-190 K Euros and the Modena at about 70 K), although because of the lower prices of these models, the gap is smaller than between an Italia and a Speciale.

 

yeah very strange. I think this current world econ of cheap borrowed money and housing/stock/crypto bubble might have caused that. People want the latest and greatest, but double or triple the cost is hard to justify for people with under 7 digit net worth considering the base 458 is already so damn good

 

I think the Speciale is always going to stand out as a masterpiece.

It is so precise that one time I was driving along with a buddy laughing my butt off and had to consciously keep from wiggling the accelerator because the car was jumping with me.

 

That one has somewhat baffled me too. I think it was the perfect storm in the Scud’s case, and not for its benefit. I still struggle to see it, but to many the 430 is like the 996 911’s, it seems the majority don’t like the look. In addition it’s the exact same chassis as the 360, thus not exactly a revolutionary change, they made a ton of Scud’s, and money was easy once they started hitting the used market, and got harder again in the last few years thus the sell off. A bummer for sure.

Personally I think the 430’s are beautiful, and the Scud is lust worthy, and its a go kart to boot, it FEELS light, where the Speciale feels nimble. It’s just such a great car.

 

Let the flaming begin.

Wasn't the first modern Ferrari Speciale a 348?

Joe

 

I think it is really simple, there is absolutely no comparison.

That glorious V8 of the Speciale (and Aperta) is Ferrari's magnum opus, never to be repeated, the end of the line.

One for the history books and as such, highly prized.

Sure, to some it is a mere checkmark to be noted in their "ownership" history to move on to the next target of desire in Ferrari's lineup to come.

To others, it is prized and forever celebrates the best Ferrari ever made that is a naturally aspirated V8, and it is for this reason I conjecture why the price will remain on its own plateau.

At least while those of us who care about such things remain present to enjoy.

 

The Speciale is truly a magnificent car and I believe the market recognizes that and thus the premium it commands over the standard 458.
I owned a Scud for 7 years. It is a fantastic car and in my mind undervalued in the current market. However, I have owned an Speciale for just over a year and I believe that is at a different level.
It seems that the Speciale has a much bigger and stronger group of “fans” than the Scud. Just take a look at the number of pages in the Scud picture thread vs the Speciale picture thread. This “fan” base is what keeps the price up vs other models.
My local dealer told me the other day that the Speciale is one of the very few Ferraris that has never sold under MSRP. Impressive.


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I have also owned both a Scud and a Speciale. I bought my Scud and really enjoyed it for 3 years. It won Concours first in class twice and it is truly an amazing driving experience but it lacked that dynamic turn your head appeal and presence. I also found it to be too “common” to really standout and many exotic car enthusiasts would say, man that is a nice 430! As an example of “common”, every time I took it to the biggest regular car show in Seattle there was always one or more “exact” spec Scuds there and often several other Scuds so it never had that “uncommon” wow factor and because carbon fiber options were standard features there were few options to differentiate individual Scuds.
My Speciale on the other hand has already proven to be very “uncommon” and definitely has that “wow what is this” dynamic. Even if more than one Speciale is in the same show because it could have such different specs they “seem” to standout from each other. For example, I have the black roof option with Argento paint...it looks very different from the launch spec (red with NART stripe). Also, the Scud does not have branding like “last and most powerful NA V8 etc.). Bottom line, hate it but I think Scuds will always be special and “raw” in regards to the driving experience but will not stand as iconic whereas the Speciale will hold tremendous value and are worthy of iconic status.


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Could not agree more, and to drag another marque into this, I think its similar to the Ford GTs, and Carrera GT. The older "analog" cars have become the unconventional drivers cars. I'd love a pista, but I am fully aware, that I'm merely a year or two away from yet another faster lighter turbo car. Its not about the outright speed or technology for me anymore, got burned out chasing the latest and greatest. I'm finally content.....which I never thought would happen with cars. So much so, if I found another 458SA, and I liked the color scheme, I'd add it to the inventory.

 

Prior to the 360 Modena the Challenge versions were (as hard to believe it is) road legal, at least in Europe. So the 348 and 355 Challenge could be used as radical road cars, and there was no space in the range to fill. The 360 Challenge however was not road legal, which brought the opportunity to introduce another road version allegedly derived (actually, more inspired than derived) from the Challenge car - it also explains the initial name of "Challenge Stradale".