Children

World-record $145,445 paid for Ferrari 330 P2 Replica children's car

World-record $145,445 paid for Ferrari 330 P2 Replica children's car
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €110,000 ($133,325) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €110,000 ($133,325) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
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Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
This Bugatti Baby Type 52 electric children’s car was built in 1930 and was one of four such cars purchased new by Fritz Schlumpf, one of the brothers whose automobile collection became the basis for the French National Automotive museum Cité de l'Automobile. This car was auctioned by Christie’s in 2015, selling for €111,900. Two of the four cars are now in the La Cité de l'Automobile in the Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse. The fourth "short chassis" Bugatti Baby from the Schlumpf collection was sold during the Estate sale of Arlette Schlumpf by Gasser Audhuy in 2009 for €65,000 (US$90,929).
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This Bugatti Baby Type 52 electric children’s car was built in 1930 and was one of four such cars purchased new by Fritz Schlumpf, one of the brothers whose automobile collection became the basis for the French National Automotive museum Cité de l'Automobile. This car was auctioned by Christie’s in 2015, selling for €111,900. Two of the four cars are now in the La Cité de l'Automobile in the Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse. The fourth "short chassis" Bugatti Baby from the Schlumpf collection was sold during the Estate sale of Arlette Schlumpf by Gasser Audhuy in 2009 for €65,000 (US$90,929).
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The world-record price for a children's car was paid at an RM-Sotheby's auction in Paris on Saturday February 13, 2021, when a Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by French coach-builder De La Chapelle went for €120,000 (US$145,445).

The highest price ever paid for a children’s car at auction came quite unexpectedly as it was fetched against an official estimate of between €5,000 and €10,000, with a bidding war driving the hammer price to €100,000: 10 times its high estimate. The final price of €120,000 was reached by the addition of RM-Sotheby's 20 percent buyers premium. The new record eclipses the existing record of $126,500 paid for a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa replica at an RM-Sotheby's auction in New York in 2013.

In November 2013, RM Auctions (now RM-Sotheby’s) sold what was then the world’s most expensive children’s car at its annual December sale in New York. Produced by Modena Ferrarina Italia, the ½ scale Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa replica sold for $126,500. The electric-powered Testa Rossa replica has a handmade steel bodywork and was distributed in-period by the American Ferrari distributor, Luigi Chinetti Motors. It is believed that twenty-five Testa Rossa replicas were built, with fewer than five remaining worldwide. This car was previously owned by renowned Ferrari collector Kirk F. White, who had it restored to the same standards as his concours-winning full-sized Ferraris.
In November 2013, RM Auctions (now RM-Sotheby’s) sold what was then the world’s most expensive children’s car at its annual December sale in New York. Produced by Modena Ferrarina Italia, the ½ scale Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa replica sold for $126,500. The electric-powered Testa Rossa replica has a handmade steel bodywork and was distributed in-period by the American Ferrari distributor, Luigi Chinetti Motors. It is believed that twenty-five Testa Rossa replicas were built, with fewer than five remaining worldwide. This car was previously owned by renowned Ferrari collector Kirk F. White, who had it restored to the same standards as his concours-winning full-sized Ferraris.

The 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa replica was built in period by Italian company Modena Ferrarina Italia and was sold new by the American Ferrari Importer Luigi Chinetti Motors. Only 25 were built, and only five are believed to still exist, so the extremely high price was not entirely unexpected.

This Bugatti Baby Type 52 electric children’s car was built in 1930 and was one of four such cars purchased new by Fritz Schlumpf, one of the brothers whose automobile collection became the basis for the French National Automotive museum Cité de l'Automobile. This car was auctioned by Christie’s in 2015, selling for €111,900. Two of the four cars are now in the La Cité de l'Automobile in the Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse. The fourth "short chassis" Bugatti Baby from the Schlumpf collection was sold during the Estate sale of Arlette Schlumpf by Gasser Audhuy in 2009 for €65,000 (US$90,929).
This Bugatti Baby Type 52 electric children’s car was built in 1930 and was one of four such cars purchased new by Fritz Schlumpf, one of the brothers whose automobile collection became the basis for the French National Automotive museum Cité de l'Automobile. This car was auctioned by Christie’s in 2015, selling for €111,900. Two of the four cars are now in the La Cité de l'Automobile in the Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse. The fourth "short chassis" Bugatti Baby from the Schlumpf collection was sold during the Estate sale of Arlette Schlumpf by Gasser Audhuy in 2009 for €65,000 (US$90,929).

The previous record holder was one of Ettore Bugatti's fabled first batch of Baby cars produced in 1927, which fetched $124,962 (€111,900) at a Christie’s art and interiors auction in 2015. The Bugatti Baby is a faithful half-scale replica of the Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix, the legendary machine that is still today regarded as the most successful racing car in history.

This Bugatti Baby sold in Paris on 10 February 2017 for $99,000. 12 of the 15 most valuable scale cars ever sold at auction are Bugatti Baby electric Type 52s produced by the Molsheim factory in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
This Bugatti Baby sold in Paris on 10 February 2017 for $99,000. 12 of the 15 most valuable scale cars ever sold at auction are Bugatti Baby electric Type 52s produced by the Molsheim factory in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Though around 100 of the original 500 Bugatti Babys manufactured are believed extant, the smallest Bugatti is today regarded as a work of art, and regularly fetches high prices - 11 of the top 15 most valuable children's cars ever sold at auction are Bugatti Babys.

Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021
Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle | Sold for €120,000 ($145,445) at RM-Sotheby's Paris Auction on February 13, 2021

Which brings us back to the new record holder, the Ferrari 330 P2 Junior by De La Chapelle, which, unlike the previous record holders, is a quite unexpected new auction block champion.

The highest price previously paid for a Ferrari 330 P2 Junior Child’s Car by De La Chappelle was $66,125 at an RM-Sotheby’s Amelia Island auction in March 2015, and the price of that model was undoubtedly inflated because the proceeds went entirely to benefit the Spina Bifida Association of Jacksonville. Charity auctions often produce exceptional results. Beyond that charity auction result, the previous highest price fetched by one of these models was €33,350 (US$38,363) by Bonhams on October 5, 2018, $33,600 at a November 2020 RM-Sotheby’s auction and $30,000 at Mecum's Monterey auction in August, 2017.

As we noted in our extensive article from September 2020 entitled Pictorial: The Concours of Elegance for Children's Cars, the prices of collectible children's cars often display volatility. One of the most collectible children's car is the 1976 Ferrari 312 F1 Replica. Just seven half-scale Ferrari 312 F1 children's cars were built in 1977 using half-scale parts from the original Ferrari suppliers. Prices for those cars at auction have ranged from $82,500 to $29,200 in just the last three years.

Editor's note: This article was originally published citing the hammer price as €100,000 and the buyers premium as 10 percent for a total sale price of €110,000 (US$133,325). The buyers premium for this lot was actually 20 percent, which RM-Sotheby's applies to all lots it considers "non-motor car lots." The correct total price for this children's car was €120,000 (US$145,445).

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5 comments
5 comments
buzzclick
I'm wondering when this junior was built, but judging from the Honda engine it's not that old. Top speed? Acceleration? Will a child ever get to drive it? Maybe not. Not fast anyway. It looks well done and the proportions seem just right. The other toy cars have tires that are a little too skinny.
Fairly Reasoner
Nice. But not that nice.
Nelson Hyde Chick
Whoever bought this thing for that much money has more money than common sense! It is disgusting that there are people starving on the street homeless people while there re people can blow this kind of money on a toy!!!
Kpar
I wonder if this will boost the value of the Monza SS go-karts some of my friends own?
Steven Kalb
Can Mike tell us the length, width, height of this car?