The 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello bought new by Michael Jordan has sold for $2.7 million, setting a public-auction record for the model. Bidding closed late on September 30 UTC, with the result reported more widely the following day. The price was far beyond normal 550 Maranello values and comfortably above JOOPITER's pre-sale estimate of $700,000 to $1.3 million.
The car is chassis 108712, finished in Rosso Barchetta over tan leather. Jordan took delivery on May 29, 1997 through Foreign Cars Italia in Greensboro, North Carolina. Its surviving factory warranty booklet carries his signature, and the auction description says the driver's seating position was modified to better accommodate his 6-foot-6 frame.
Ferrari's 550 Maranello marked the company's return to a front-engined V12 flagship grand tourer after more than two decades of mid-engined range-toppers. Jordan's car has the naturally aspirated 5.5-litre V12 and six-speed gated manual gearbox that now make the model especially attractive to collectors. JOOPITER says Jordan covered roughly 6,400 miles in the Ferrari, using it for Bulls home games, practices and public appearances.
Its significance also extends beyond the car itself. The Rosso Barchetta Ferrari became closely associated with Jordan during the Chicago Bulls' late-1990s championship run, and JOOPITER notes that its design influenced Tinker Hatfield's Air Jordan XIV. That connection gives the car a place in both automotive and sports memorabilia history.
Jordan sold the Maranello in December 2002. It then spent more than two decades out of public view in a private California collection. CURATED traced the car in 2026 after a long search and returned it to Chicago exactly 29 years after its original delivery.
The $2.7 million result is therefore less a referendum on ordinary 550 values than on provenance. A well-documented link to one of the most recognizable athletes of the modern era turned an already desirable manual V12 Ferrari into a singular collector object.