Usually, a standard Ferrari 550 Maranello, a gorgeous front-engine V12 grand tourer, commands somewhere between $800,000 and $1.3 million if you catch the collector market on a particularly generous day. But throw a basketball legend’s signature onto the original title, and reality surrenders to sheer valuation insanity.
A 1997 model formerly owned by none other than Michael Jordan just crossed the auction block for a jaw-dropping $2.7 million. Organized by Joopiter, an outfit traditionally known for slinging sports memorabilia, natural history artifacts, and cultural oddities rather than motorcars, the online auction lasted two weeks, generated 43 frantic bids, and closed less than 48 hours ago.
Partnering with vintage supercar specialist Curated for their maiden automotive foray, Joopiter shattered the record for the most expensive 550 Maranello ever sold at public auction, more than quadrupling the previous benchmark (a exact figure the platform coyly declined to reveal).
Ferrari originally delivered this pristine V12 masterpiece to His Airness back in May 1997, finished in a rich Rosso Barchetta paint over light brown leather upholstery and wearing prophetic Illinois license plates reading “MJ 5”. That custom plate proved spot-on: just a month later in June 1997, Jordan was famously photographed behind the wheel mere hours after clinching his fifth NBA championship ring. Jordan eventually parted ways with the Italian stallion in 2002, after which it ghosted public radars for over two decades.
Enter John Temerian, CEO of Curated, who spent nearly ten relentless years playing high-octane detective, unraveling vintage Ferrari dealer registries to track down the lost GT. His patience paid off when he unearthed the car inside a quiet California garage belonging to a long-term owner who had never listed it publicly.
Demonstrating the unshakeable confidence of a man who knows he is holding a golden ticket, Temerian bought the 550 Maranello sight unseen. Fast forward to May 29, 2026, and the legendary V12 rolled back into Chicago, exactly 29 years to the day after its original delivery to Jordan.
If there were ever any lingering doubts about the absurd power of celebrity provenance in the collector world, watching a decade-long treasure hunt turn a standard 90s grand tourer into a $2.7 million halo asset should permanently put them to rest.
