The NBA legend put more than 6000 miles on the car during his ownership, much of it driving to and from Chicago Bulls games.
This week, Pharrell Williams-founded auction establishment Joopiter offered a pair of lots steeped in Michael Jordan lore that closed this week: the “Last Dance” jersey he wore in the 1998 NBA finals, and—more interestingly for Road & Trackreaders—the 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello he purchased new and owned until 2002. On September 30, the car blitzed past Joopiter’s estimate of $700,000 to $1,300,000, hammering for $2.7 million.
550 Maranellos regularly trade for $200,000 to $300,000 these days; the result therefore reflects 10 times what you would expect to pay for a typical example. “With a [relatively] affordable starting bid and price point, it makes sense that we had significant competitive bidding,” Joopiter Global Head of Sale Caitlin Donovan tells Road & Track. “This is one of those remarkable objects that transcends a number of categories.”
“You can see that generational shift happening,” adds supercar seller Curated’s founder John Temerian, who partnered with Joopiter after plucking the 550 Maranello from years of hiding. “The way people think about cars, memorabilia, and what is genuinely collectible is changing.”
Jordan obtained the Rosso Barchetta machine in late May of 1997 through North Carolina’s Foreign Cars Italia. Chassis 108712, one of 3083 550 Maranellos built, gained around 6400 miles with Jordan at the wheel, many of which were logged driving to and from Chicago Bulls games and practices while wearing the Illinois plate “MJ 5.” Furthermore, sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield referenced the car’s shape in the Air Jordan XIV, a shoe incorporating features such as a Jumpman logo patterned after the Prancing Horse.
In late 2002, Jordan sold his 550 via Lake Forest Sportscars in the Chicago area. From there, it made its way to a California owner, never being offered for public sale and never once emerging in 24 years. It finally reappeared after Curated embarked on a decade-long search for the front-engined Ferrari; after finding an incomplete chassis number on an internet forum, the company recreated the VIN and employed Ferrari’s dealer records to trace the car.
Temerian, whose enterprise also hunted down Jordan’s 512 TR, elaborates on the allure of what he calls a “game-used” car: “You wonder how much time Jordan spent” in the 550 Maranello, “thinking, decompressing, and preparing for what was ahead.”
Following Curated’s sight-unseen acquisition (for a now-broken record price, as Temerian attests around the 14:00 mark in this video), the car traveled back to Chicago this May, where a photoshoot was staged on the grounds of Jordan’s iconic mansion in preparation for the sale.
The jersey, meanwhile, transacted for $12,260,000, becoming the most expensive jersey ever sold (while remaining within its $10-15 million estimate). To use a bit of sports lingo, consider the expectation-defying 550 Maranello the underdog of the pair.
