From the Classifieds: 2015 LaFerrari

In a strange sort of existential twist, the Ferrari LaFerrari presents a bit of a conundrum.

In essence describing itself as the ultimate, quintessential Ferrari, does it suggest that no other car from the Italian supercar marque will ever be created to exceed this model’s essential Ferrari-ness?

As a certain light entertainment TV show from the UK would have it, the car’s naming is “neatly annexing the Italian company in a weird little semantic cul-de-sac when it comes to naming its next car”.

As mind-twisting as a Mobius strip and somehow intriguingly irrelevant, the naming of this very expensive 21st century hypercar sounds like self-gratification taken to the extreme.

Yet, at this point in time, that self-referential logic appears justified.

At the coupe’s launch in March 2013, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: “LaFerrari is the finest expression of our company’s unique, unparalleled engineering and design know-how, including that acquired in Formula 1.”

First conceived to replace the Enzo model at the tail end of the noughties, and with just 499 built between 2013 and 2016 (followed by 209 Aperta convertible versions built from 2016 to 2018), LaFerrari in essence is a hybrid-powered interpretation of the company’s current sports car design philosophies – a carbon structure, centrally-located V12 engine and dynamics that are described as the best of any road-going Ferrari ever built (up to now).

The total 708kW power output, helped but hardly dominated by a 120kW electric motor (588kW plus 120kW equals 708kW), is phenomenal and is responsible for acceleration reminiscent of a top-fuel dragster.

Zero to 100km/h delves into the circa two-second category.

Unlike a dragster though, LaFerrari has the finesse and tenacity of an F1 racer.

For a change it was styled in-house, not by Pininfarina, and it sports an F1-inspired interior in which the driving position was the result of collaboration with Scuderia Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

With these things in mind, the vision of LaFerrari as not just the best Ferrari ever, but arguably also the most exciting hypercar, full stop (again, up to now), is omnipresent.

The statistics are supported by those who have been lucky enough to get a drive of a LaFerrari. Quoting the TV show again: “Find a decent empty stretch of road and you can warp the weft of space-time with the LaFerrari’s acceleration.”

The pricing for this ultimate Ferrari was, as you would expect, significant. At its 2013 launch, the LaFerrari coupe was tagged at the equivalent of a cool $A1.5 million.

In Australia, the LaFerrari is a rare beast. Initially about seven cars were earmarked to be exported to Australia and New Zealand but tracking down details about how many cars have made their way to the opposite side of the world is tricky.

What we do understand is that this Rosso Corsa 2015 LaFerrari, now on sale through carsales.com.au, was reportedly shipped to Australia in 2016 to take its place as part of a private collection on display at the Gosford Classic Car museum in New South Wales.

Although the rules on registering rare exotic cars have been relaxed in recent times, this Ferrari has barely turned a wheel: the kilometres recorded since it rolled off the limited-production line five years ago total just 678km.

And the asking price? Just $10 short of $4.5 million – which is quite a hike on the original price tag and makes the LaFerrari easily the most expensive car currently listed on carsales.com.au, but not as expensive as a 2015 LaFerrari that a dealer listed on carsales for $5.5 million just over two years ago.

Mind you, even that price sounds almost like a bargain when you compare it to the $12.4 million fetched for an Aperta model at an RM Sotheby charity auction in 2017.

As far as we know, the only LaFerrari Aperta to set a wheel on Australian roads was a car driven by former Australian F1 driver Tim Schenken at a 2017 event celebrating Ferrari’s 70th anniversary.