It’s a fairly straight-forward question to ask, especially if you’re aware that a “standard” Ferrari LaFerrari costs “only” $1.4 million. Regardless of your willingness (or apprehension), some deep-pocketed fellow evidently didn’t mind shelling out $7 million for a car that Maranello built to raise funds for the victims of the deadly earthquake that rocked Central Italy back in September 2016.

The highly anticipated auction for the 500th LaFerrari took place during the Ferrari Finali Mondialia event at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida and as far as hype goes, the bidding war for the one and only LaFerrari model that can lay claim to not being part of Ferrari’s initial 499-unit production run for the hypercar was chalk full of drama.

The auction for the hypercar was handled by RM Sotheby’s and bidding took well over 10 minutes as people desperately tried to squeeze out as much of their allocated funds for the car as they could into their bids. The fact that the auction was also open to phone and absentee bids also added to the collective drama on who would end up with the sought-after hypercar. When the dust settled, the $7 million bid for the 500th LaFerrari was more than enough to hold off the competitive field, and in doing so became the most expensive 21st-century-produced vehicle in history.

Not surprisingly, Ferrari didn’t divulge the identity of the winning bidder. Not that it should, especially if the proud, new owner of the 500th LaFerrari wants to enjoy his new prized hypercar in private. The good news is that the $7 million he’s now on the hook for the limited edition LaFerrari will go to a cause that’s going to make a lot of people’s holiday season a little bit better.

Here’s to hoping that everyone, Ferrari included, got what they wanted from this record-setting auction.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

A lot of money was raised for a good purpose

I’ll admit, I didn’t expect the 500th Ferrari LaFerrari to fetch $7 million. My conservative estimate was around $3 million – more than two times the price of the standard LaFerrari – and that figure was blown completely out of the water. The results tell us a couple of things.

First, a lot of Ferrari collectors apparently value the story behind this specific Ferrari LaFerrari more than I thought they would. We all know why Ferrari only had plans to build 499 units of the LaFerrari. The automaker wasn’t veering away from that number, but a natural disaster in its home country compelled Maranello to do something to help out in whatever way they can. That “help” came in the decision to add another LaFerrari to its total count. Not only is this particular model specified as the 500th model (with a plaque to prove it!) it also came with a special livery on its nose featuring the tri-colors of the Italian flag. Apparently, these special indicators were more than enough to drive the auction price to five times the value of a “standard” LaFerrari.

The second and more important thing is the money that Ferrari was able to reach with the help of the National Italian American Foundation’s Earthquake Relief Fund and RM Sotheby’s, the auction house that hosted the 500th LaFerrari. We already know that the proceeds from the auction will be used “ toward the reconstruction efforts in the areas affected by the earthquake.”

What we didn’t know was that, in addition to the 500th LaFerrari, Ferrari also auctioned off other items for the same purpose, including a pair of Formula one racing suits and gloves, one of which was signed by former F1 world champion and Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen and the other signed by his teammate, four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel. Both suits ended up going for around $36,000 and like the 500th Ferrari, that entire amount will benefit the same efforts.

Read our full review on the Ferrari LaFerrari here.