A one-of-a-kind Ferrari 599 GTB painted in Ge Liln porcelain-inspired Oriental swirls has sold for $1.77m at auction in Beijing, on Wednesday night (November 4).
The Fiorano China Limited Edition features a bodywork designed by the Chinese artist Lu Hao. Resembling a patchwork of jade fragments, it is said to be based on the porcelain of the Song dynasty (960-1279).
The sale took place at a gala dinner to mark Ferrari's fifth anniversary in China. Seven-times Formula One champion Michael Schumacher had previously unveiled the car.
"It is a very good mix of Chinese inspiration, an artist's eye and Italian technology," said Schumacher.
Lu Hao's bodywork certainly affects how the cars bodywork meets the eye; ornamental and shell-like in contrast to Ferrari's more typical sleek red lines.
The Fiorano's design includes an number of other home-grown touches, including a rev counter marked with xiaozhuan characters, an ancient form of Chinese calligraphy.
Forty-year-old Lu Hao is one of China's most influential contemporary artists, whose works are featured in many museums around the world, including the Museum of the University of Cambridge.
However, the Fiorano China Limited Edition's remarkable sale still didn't come close to the most expensive car ever sold at auction, the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, which sold for $12.1m in October.
