A Ferrari Daytona SP3 retained by the factory for development and press work has sold for £8,161,250 at RM Sotheby's London auction on October 31, 2026. It was the sale's highest-priced lot, with the result landing within the £7.5 million to £9.5 million estimate. Unlike most collector-owned Daytona SP3s, this car spent its first years in Ferrari's hands.
A factory-specified development car
Chassis ZFF05UMB000277499 was completed in June 2022 in left-hand-drive form. A plaque between the seats reads “Vettura Di Sviluppo”, identifying its development role. Ferrari itself selected the triple-layer Giallo Triplo Strato paint, Rosso Ferrari leather cabin, carbon-fibre elements and airbrushed Scuderia shields.
The manufacturer retained the SP3 for testing and media use. Andrew Frankel drove it for Motor Sport, and the car also appeared in coverage by Car and Driver and Road & Track. It featured on the BBC's Top Gear in December 2022. Those appearances give this particular chassis a public history that can be traced through published road and track reports, not just service documents.
In March 2025 Ferrari sold it to its first private owner through H R Owen, after which it was registered in the UK. The odometer showed 2,948 miles at cataloguing. The sale included its removable carbon-fibre hardtop, folding fabric roof, owner's documents, tools and tyre-inflation kit.
Provenance with an observable price
The Daytona SP3 belongs to the Icona series, with bodywork referencing Ferrari sports-racing prototypes of the 1960s. A naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Those mechanical facts are shared with other SP3s; the distinguishing feature here is its role as a vehicle Ferrari specified and used before passing it to a private owner.
Its history did not push the London result beyond the auction estimate. That should discourage the assumption that a familiar press car automatically earns a quantifiable premium over otherwise comparable examples. There are too many differences in specification, mileage and sale circumstances to infer one from this transaction alone.
RM Sotheby's also marked the lot as one in which the auction house had an ownership interest, in whole or in part. The disclosure relates to the sale itself and is separate from the car's documented development and media history.