There are Ferraris whose values have behaved like Ferrari values for as long as anyone can remember.
The F40. The F50. The Enzo.
Then there are Ferraris that went in completely the opposite direction.
They got cheaper.
The Ferrari 612 Scaglietti is one of them.
But looking at the market today, I can't help wondering whether the 612 is finally reaching the point where the story starts to change.
A 20-year-old Ferrari V12 for around €70,000
Take a look at the current market.
There are currently dozens of Ferrari 612 Scagliettis listed across Europe, with the cheapest cars sitting at around €70,000. Better examples with lower mileage and good history are often advertised in the €80,000–€100,000 range.
And then you have to ask yourself:
We're talking about a Ferrari.
A car that's more than 20 years old.
With a naturally aspirated 5.7-litre V12 producing 540 hp.
Are these really going to become €40,000 Ferraris?
I don't think so.
That doesn't mean the 612 is about to become the next F50.
Far from it.
But I think the downside is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
The problem was that nobody really dreamed about one
The 612 never had the poster-car status of other Ferraris.
It wasn't an F40.
It wasn't an F50.
It wasn't an Enzo.
It wasn't even the kind of Ferrari people immediately associated with aggressive driving and track days.
The 612 was different.
Ferrari introduced it in 2004 as the successor to the 456 GT — a large 2+2 Grand Tourer built for covering serious distances in serious comfort.
And that character is actually what makes it interesting today.
This was a Ferrari you travelled in
The 612 wasn't really about attacking corners.
Of course it was fast. Very fast.
But its personality was different.
You didn't necessarily buy a 612 because you wanted to take it to the track.
You bought it because you wanted to cross Europe in a Ferrari.
Four seats.
A huge V12 up front.
Long-distance comfort.
And enough performance to make the journey very, very quick.
It was a cruiser.
A Ferrari cruiser, obviously — so "cruiser" is a relative term.
But compared with many other Ferraris, the 612 was a car you drove with a certain amount of dignity.
And that may actually work in its favour today.
It won't become the next F50
Let's be realistic.
I don't see the 612 becoming some kind of spectacular investment.
It simply isn't rare enough.
It doesn't have the historical significance of Ferrari's greatest halo cars.
And for many years, its styling wasn't exactly helping its case either.
So I don't see this happening:
€70k → €150k → €300k.
No.
What I can see is something much less exciting — but perhaps much more realistic.
€70k → €80k → €90k.
Slowly.
Over time.
With the very best examples pulling away from the rest.
And then there is the 456 GT
I see a very similar story with the Ferrari 456 GT.
Another V12 Ferrari.
Another elegant 2+2 GT.
Another car that was never the poster child of its generation.
And another car that is increasingly interesting simply because cars like this are disappearing.
These aren't Ferraris for someone who wants to arrive somewhere and immediately tell everyone they've arrived in a Ferrari.
They're Ferraris for someone who actually wants to drive a Ferrari.
And that's becoming increasingly important.
The V12 changes everything
Ultimately, the biggest argument for the 612 might be sitting right in front of you.
The engine.
A naturally aspirated V12.
5.7 litres.
12 cylinders.
540 horsepower.
No turbochargers.
No hybrid system.
Just a big Ferrari V12 doing what Ferrari V12s used to do.
Twenty years ago, that wasn't particularly unusual.
Today, it feels almost impossible to reproduce.
And that's where the long-term appeal of cars like the 612 could come from.
Not because they're incredibly rare.
Not because everyone suddenly wants one.
But because they represent an era that is disappearing.
Would I buy one as an investment?
No.
I'd buy one as a car that might stop losing money.
And that's a very different proposition.
If you find a good 612 today for €70,000–€80,000, I wouldn't buy it expecting to sell it for €150,000 in ten years.
But I would be very interested in the possibility that a good example could be worth more in fifteen years than it is today.
Especially a low-mileage car with a strong history, original specification and the right configuration.
Because eventually something strange happens with cars.
People start missing what they used to ignore.
And I think the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti could be one of those cars.
It probably won't become the next F50.
It doesn't need to.
Maybe its real achievement will be much simpler:
It stops going down.
And for a 20-year-old Ferrari with a naturally aspirated V12 that can still be bought for around €70,000, that's already pretty interesting.
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