Someone Tried To Sell a Ferrari That Can't Drive Faster Than 15 MPH. What's Wrong With It?

This 2014 Ferrari F12berlinetta was designed at the Ferrari Styling Center with the help of Pininfarina. It is built around an aluminum space-frame chassis. The Maranello-based brand unveiled the model in October 2015.

What you are looking at is actually an F12tdf-prototype 2014 Ferrari F12berlinetta Mulotipo MP4. It sounds like it is next to impossible to remember, doesn't it? The prototype was modified by Ferrari for use as a development vehicle to test technologies and mechanics for the track-focused F12tdf.

The development of the F12tdf started in mid-2014. The engineers used several prototypes to refine the F12. Among them was the impossible-to-remember-its-entire-name F12tdf-Prototype 2014 Ferrari F12berlinetta Mulotipo MP4.

When they did not need it anymore, they decided to sell it. But first, to make sure this vehicle was not going to drive on public roads, they limited the speed to only 15 mph (24 kph). So, now, it turns out that the supercar is super slow. 15 mph is slower than most electric scooters, for instance. And even a golf cart might have a chance at beating it in a drag race.

The model arrived in the United States to only be displayed at special events. That owner eventually decided to part with it. So, in 2022, he sold it to a dealership that is trying to sell it now. Who would really need a supercar that they can't drive? It turns out that nobody. Not yet, anyway. On the previous auction, the reserve was not met, so the car stayed with the dealership. The listing, though, does not mention the exact value of the reserve.

It is yet unknown if the limitation is just a software trick that Ferrari did to limit the speed down to 15 mph and if the automaker can reverse it. However, they might not want to reverse it. That leaves the future owner with a super expensive car that can't even be driven on public roads. And when it finally hits the track, it can cause chaos among the cars that flash past it.

It may seem difficult to believe, but the Ferrari prototype still has its original engine. It operates, however, in a detuned version: a 6.3-liter V12, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transaxle, which sends the power to the rear wheels.

It comes with the standard F12berlinetta hood and rear quarter glass, sporting white vinyl roundels on the doors and Pirelli graphics at the rear, where there is also a quad exhaust. It rides on 20-inch wheels with Pirelli P Zero tires, measuring 275/35 at the front and 315/35 at the rear. Black-painted calipers over cross-drilled carbon-ceramic rotors provide the stopping power.

It features front and rear parking sensors. The cabin features bucket seats in Nero leather with Cavallino embroidery on the headrests. The same type of leather also covers the dashboard, door panels and center console, where the cut-off switches are.

The steering wheel displays a flat-bottom lower section, is wrapped in leather, and features paddle shifters and the famous manettino drive-mo selector. The tachometer is scaled up to 10,000 rpm, while the odometer shows almost 19,756 miles. This meanes someone actually drove for almost 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometers) at speeds below 15 mph! The previous owner only covered 40 of them.

The Ferrari currently resides in Costa Mesa, California, so that is where the future buyer has to take their trailer after paying a fortune for it. $475,000. Yes, you read that right. Ten bids after the auction started, the price reached almost half a million dollars. But that still wasn't enough. Whoever buys it, if ever, the vehicle goes with a battery tender, Zanasi Group inspection documents, and a bill of sale.

But who would pay a fortune for a car that they will never be able to show off on public roads. Since it is not road-legal, it can't be registered for use on public roads. Furthermore, if they took it to the racetrack, they would be the talk of the town and the main reason for jokes.

The F12tdf was 243 pounds lighter than the F12berlinetta at the time It came with a revised bodywork and aerodynamics, it featured a wider track and thinner glass that lowered the weight, and had a small rear quarter window. The hood was made from carbon fiber, and so were the decklid and the door skins. Ferrari built 799 F12tdf examples during a production run between 2015 and 2017.

The prototype that we are dealing with sports a European market F12berlinetta VIN sequence. The "Vehicle not street legal" message is affixed to the frame.

Buying a prototype that you have to store away and just trailer to some special events for display for a fortune does'’t really make sense. A street-legal Ferrari F12berlinetta can be purchased for half that price on the used car market.

Earlier this month, a dealership in Dubai, belonging to Alexandra Hirschi, aka Supercar Blondie, tried to sell a LaFerrari prototype. That one had a speed limit of 30 mph. However, nobody wanted that one.