First Ferrari 458 Speciale A sells for $900,000 at auction

The first of just 499 examples of the new open-top Ferrari 458 Speciale A crossed the block in California over the weekend during Ferrari’s 60^th anniversary celebration. The sale was called by David Gooding himself of the Gooding and Co. auction house.

The upgraded 458 sold for $900,000, with profits going to Daybreak, a charity that searches for cures for rare genetic diseases.

Gallery: Ferrari 458 Speciale A

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The Speciale A gets an upgraded version of the company’s 4.5-liter V8 making 596 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque. It was introduced at the Paris motor show. Though the A weighs about 100 pounds more than the hardtop, it’s just as fast as the coupe, with a sprint time of less than 3 seconds. Ferrari said it bests the 599 GTO around the Fiorano test track by a half second.

It’s the most aerodynamically efficient Ferrari spider ever, according to the company. It incorporates new rear active aero, extra rigidity in the chassis and 10 different aluminum alloys.

Ferrari hasn’t announced the base price of the Speciale A yet; all we know is that the hardtop version sells for about $298,000.

Jake Lingeman

Jake Lingeman has been with Autoweek since 2006 and career highlights include driving the Silverstone Circuit in England, taking the Corvette ZR1 around Road Atlanta and going to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. When he’s not writing about, driving, working on or thinking about cars, he’s reading liberal books and playing video games. In his opinion, the best new car in the world is the Ferrari 488 Pista. The Ford Shelby GT350, the Nissan GT-R and the Porsche 911 GT3 are favorites too. He owns a 1963 Pontiac Star Chief, a 2014 Ford Mustang GT and 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL.