√Eric Clapton’s Ferrari 599 sells at auction for a bargain price

This Ferrari 599 was once a part of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Eric Clapton’s multi-million-dollar car collection.

A Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano originally owned by rock star Eric Clapton has sold for a bargain hammer price of £71,500 ($AU129,700) in an online auction in the UK.

According to the Collecting Cars listing, Mr Clapton – a three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – purchased the ‘Nero Daytona’ black Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano new in 2007, fitting optional equipment which included a Bose sound system.

The Collecting Cars listing does not say when Mr Clapton sold the Ferrari 599, although a 2012 report suggested the former Cream and Yard Birds band member had already moved on from the Italian sports coupe.

This particular Ferrari 599 was most recently listed for sale by its previous owner in 2020 with an asking price of £89,900 ($AU163,000 today), with this week’s Collecting Cars auction falling short of its last result by £18,490 ($AU33,500).

Since it was last sold, the Ferrari 599 recorded an additional 1895 miles (1440km) on its odometer, which now shows 25,490 miles (41,000km).

Launched in 2006, the Ferrari 599 is powered by a 6.0-litre (or 5999cc) V12, which delivers 456kW and 608Nm to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic transmission.

The Ferrari 599 was priced from £171,825 in the UK when it arrived in 2006. Australian-delivered 599s required customers to fork out $574,000 plus on-road costs for the V12 grand tourer, while examples fitted with the optional automatic gearbox starting from $600,000.

In the UK, prices have steadily fallen since launch, with British car valuation website Parkers estimating a used Ferrari 599 is worth anywhere between £32,305 and £59,020 – equivalent to $AU58,500 to $AU107,000.

However, Australian examples of Ferrari’s grand tourer continue to hold their value, with two sellers listing automatic 599s on Drive’s classifieds, priced from $435,871 and $501,279 respectively.

According to a 2020 article by fashion publication GQ, Mr Clapton is a long-time fan of Ferrari, amassing a vast collection of the Italian car-maker’s most iconic models, including the F40 and Enzo supercars, a 250 GT Lusso and Daytona coupe.

The guitarist’s association with Ferrari resulted in a bespoke one-off model, named the SP12 EC. Based on the 458 Italia, the SP12 EC was inspired by Mr Clapton’s own Ferrari 512BB from the 1970s.

It is understood Mr Clapton paid £3 million ($5.47 million today) for the Ferrari SP12 EC in 2012, although the Italian car-maker was unable to fit the car with a V12 engine as requested – settling for the 458 Italia’s 4.5-litre V8.

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