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227-Mile Ferrari Daytona SP3 Heads to Monterey With a $12 Million Estimate

By Khris Bharath –  July 21, 2026

227-Mile Ferrari Daytona SP3 Heads to Monterey With a $12 Million Estimate

We're less than a month away from this year's Monterey Car Week, and the roster of automobiles coming to market continues to heat up. Yesterday, we featured Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason's McLaren F1 GTR, chassis 10R, heading to the same sale at RM Sotheby's with an estimate north of $35 million. Today another headline lot from the same house: a 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 from The Driver’s Philosophy Collection. Finished in a striking Giallo Triplo Strato with Nero racing stripes and just 227 miles on the odometer, this stunning example carries an estimate of $10 million to $12 million. The Daytona SP3 is the third model in Ferrari’s Icona series, following the Monza SP1 and SP2, and the one that reaches furthest into the company’s racing history. Its name commemorates the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona, where Ferrari’s factory-entered 330 P3/4 and 330 P4 led the NART-entered 412P across the finish line three abreast. The Daytona SP3’s styling draws from that glorious era of motorsport, and at its launch, Ferrari described it as the most aerodynamically efficient road car it had developed without active aero. While Ferrari’s Tailor Made program allowed buyers to pursue near-limitless personalization for the Daytona SP3, the example seen here takes a more traditional route. Giallo Triplo Strato, which translates to ‘Triple layer’, is among the most expensive special finishes in Ferrari’s catalog. Its triple-layer composition creates a luminous effect, shifting from yellow toward shades of orange as the light changes. Configured through Ferrari’s Atelier program and completed in July 2023, the car pairs its striking exterior and Italian-flag motif with a Nero interior with yellow accents. Cavallino Rampante emblems are stitched into the headrests, while Giallo seatbelts continue the exterior color inside. Options include a carbon-fiber hardtop, lower bodywork, and mirrors; matte-black wheels with gloss-black brake calipers; airbrushed Scuderia Ferrari shields; and a suspension-lift system.  Color can matter far more in the collector-car market than a specification sheet might suggest, as we saw with the one-off Rosso Dino Ferrari Enzo that went under the hammer recently on duPont REGISTRY Live, setting the all-time online auction record at $13 million. <- Gallery -> Coming back to the SP3, Ferrari only built 599 customer examples (~150-180 delivered to the US), followed by a single one-off, and that fixed production run is becoming increasingly meaningful as the company moves deeper into hybrid and electric powertrains. At last year’s Monterey Car Week, that one-off Tailor Made Daytona SP3, the final car of the run, also prominently featured yellow and crossed the auction block for $26 million at RM Sotheby’s. We later identified its buyer as a reclusive billionaire collector. That result came from a charity sale and reflected a unique specification, final-car status, and a compelling closing-chapter narrative. This example is one of the 599 customer cars, making its $10 million to $12 million estimate the more useful market signal. The SP3 may sit outside Ferrari’s ‘Big Six’, but it carries the defining qualities of Maranello’s halo cars: theatrical bodywork, a naturally aspirated V12, and an evocative soundtrack that does much of the emotional work on its own. Nearly five years after its debut, it still commands attention in a way few of its contemporaries can. View Listing  Images: RM Sotheby's

A yellow and black Ferrari Daytona SP3, worth $26 million, is displayed on an outdoor platform at a car show, drawing the attention of billionaire car enthusiasts amid people and lights in the background.

By Charles Bradley –  August 25, 2025

Revealed: The Enigmatic Billionaire Who Bought One-Off Fe...

One of the most coveted modern Ferraris ever built, which sold for $26 million during RM Sotheby’s Monterey Car Week sale to make it the most expensive contemporary car ever auctioned, was bought by a self-made American billionaire renowned for making shrewd investments and his generous philanthropy. His record-breaking bid will go to the Ferrari Foundation, funding education and rebuilding projects. The man behind the purchase? Herbert ‘Herbie’ Wertheim, whose life story reads like an American epic. Known to friends as “Dr. Herbie,” Wertheim – who always wears a bright-red fedora – is an optometrist, inventor, philanthropist, and investing legend estimated to be worth up to $5 billion, depending on his charitable donations. Part of Ferrari’s exclusive Icona Series, the Daytona SP3 was limited to 599 examples worldwide, but this one-off ‘Tailor Made’ commission stunned the automotive world – chassis ‘599+1,’ finished in a striking two-tone carbon-fiber and Giallo Modena livery. With delivery mileage and an unprecedented level of personalization, the car commanded a price higher than many seven-figure classics. From Troubled Youth to Visionary Inventor Born in Philadelphia at the end of the Great Depression, Wertheim ran away from home as a teenager, working odd jobs like picking oranges in Florida and even living with Seminole Indians in the Everglades. At 16, he stood before a judge on truancy charges and was given a choice: State reformatory or military service. He chose the U.S. Navy at 17, a decision that reshaped his life. While serving in naval aviation during the Cold War, Wertheim began investing. His first stock purchase, Lear Jet, came from his Navy stipend, and he went on to meet aviation pioneer Bill Lear in person. That early exposure to technology and industry ignited a lifelong passion. After the Navy, Wertheim studied physics and chemistry, worked as a NASA engineer at Cape Canaveral, and eventually earned a scholarship to study optometry. In 1969, he invented an eyeglass tint for plastic lenses that filtered harmful UV rays, helping prevent cataracts.  By 1970, he founded Brain Power Inc. (BPI), which went on to hold more than 100 patents and copyrights in optical technology. A Billionaire Who Played the Long Game " width="680"> Unlike Silicon Valley moguls or Wall Street icons, Wertheim’s fortune didn’t come from a single IPO windfall. Instead, he built it patiently through decades of disciplined investing. He bought and held shares of companies like Apple, Microsoft, GE, Google, BP, and Bank of America long before they became household names, according to Forbes. His single greatest investment remains Heico, an aerospace parts manufacturer. Wertheim purchased a stake in 1992, worth about $5 million at the time. Today, his position exceeds $800 million, making him Heico’s largest individual shareholder. A Life of Luxury, Purpose, and Giving Wertheim’s portfolio afforded him an enviable lifestyle, and he has been described as one of the most successful individual investors of his generation. Yet his wealth is balanced by philanthropy. Having donated more than $100 million to Florida’s public universities, Wertheim also signed Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s ‘Giving Pledge’, committing to donate at least half his fortune – most of it toward education. The Ferrari Collector’s Dream The purchase of the Ferrari Daytona SP3 ‘599+1’ is more than just a collector’s trophy for Wertheim. It represents the same vision that defined his investments: spotting timeless innovation and believing in the value of rarity and craftsmanship, and donating his wealth to education and rebuilding projects. Like his stock portfolio, the Ferrari is built on the principle that some creations – whether a transformative technology or a bespoke supercar – transcend market cycles. For collectors, it is yet another reminder that at Monterey Car Week, history isn’t just celebrated – it’s bought and driven home. View All Ferraris For Sale on duPont REGISTRY Images Source: RM Sotheby's, Ferrari

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