This Ferrari F50, Once Owned by Ralph Lauren, Could Fetch $8.5 Million

There seems to always be another automotive diadem out there, waiting to impart regality to any collection, and it’s often badged with the iconic Prancing Horse. After all, the Maranello-based marque has come to define motoring exclusivity, elegance, and innovation since Enzo Ferrari first put his name on the 125 S model in 1947. Now, Robb Report has been given the green light to reveal that just such a car will soon cross the block through RM Sotheby’s—the 1995 Ferrari F50 initially acquired by Ralph Lauren and last displayed publicly in 2009. It’s the first lot that RM Sotheby’s is announcing as part of its Monterey auction, taking place August 15 and 16.

It’s no surprise that when Ferrari‘s 50th anniversary rolled around, it would call for a car to fittingly commemorate the occasion, and though released two years ahead of the milestone, the F50 accomplished just that—a benchmark in both design and engineering. The removable-hardtop convertible took more than inspiration from Scuderia Ferrari’s winning legacy in motorsport, it integrated tech from those same race cars of the period.

Such track-focused elements included the 520 hp vehicle’s aerodynamic ground-effect features, push-rod suspension, carbon-fiber construction, and 4.7-liter V-12—the latter mated to a six-speed synchromesh gearbox. The power-train configuration allows the 2,711-pound (dry weight) model to reach about 202 mph and cover zero to 62 mph in 3.87 seconds.

“Even with the monocoque carbon-fiber structure that they did, where essentially the engine mounts to the body . . . it’s all so advanced for the era,” says Zach Oller, car specialist at RM Sotheby’s. “And all that technology was pulled from what they were doing in Formula 1,” he notes regarding Ferrari’s development of the F50, which comprised only 349 examples during its entire production run from 1995 through 1997.

Of that already small number, only 55 originally came stateside in U.S. specification. According to Oller, out of those, “51 of them were red, two of them were black, and two of them were yellow; so to get a non-red F50 that’s a U.S.-spec car . . . makes it so exclusive . . . what also helps this car is that Ralph Lauren ordered it new.”

In 2003, Lauren sold the Giallo Modena–colored F50 to its current stewards. Its highly sheltered existence explains the sum total of 5,003 miles on the odometer since leaving the factory. “That’s the other big part of this car, that it’s been off the radar for so long,” says Oller, referencing its 22 years spent mostly sequestered while being meticulously maintained.

The Ferrari F50, in general, finds itself in the sweet spot as far as demand, not just due to its highly limited supply but because its serves as a bridge. A supercar at the cusp of the 21st century, it connects a bygone era of untamed machines demanding heightened driver control, and today’s seemingly self-guided missiles that offer stupefying performance, though often at the expense of a pilot’s full sensory engagement due to the vast array of electronic nannies.

“Everything’s touch; you have ABS, you have traction control, sound-deadening materials . . . all these things that take away from a driving experience. It’s not raw and visceral anymore,” says Oller of the industry’s latest digital direction. Countering this is the growing number of cognoscenti drawn toward “analog and naturally aspirated cars” that he’s observing. “It’s a completely different driving experience that you’ll ever get from a mid-engine, naturally aspirated V-12, [manual] six-speed with no driver assists.”

Recent auction performance is indicative of the model’s magnetism. In 2024, RM Sotheby’s sold another 1995 F50 (with 8,556 miles on it) for more than $5.5 million. Then, in February of this year, a 1996 example (with 1,351 miles on it) sold through the auction house for over $500,000 more. In the case of this numbers-matching one-time member of Ralph Lauren’s renowned collection, Oller gives the estimated value to be between $6.5 million and $8.5 million.

Click here for more photos of this 1995 Ferrari F50 once owned by Ralph Lauren.