When a car goes unsold at auction, it usually comes back with a lower estimate. The Ferrari F355 GTS that Jeremy Clarkson bought new is coming back with a higher one.
The 1996 car was offered at RM Sotheby’s Cliveden House sale on 8 July 2025, where it carried a £180,000–£220,000 estimate and ended the day “Not Sold.” It now returns as Lot 186 at Iconic Auctioneers’ NEC sale in Birmingham, crossing the block at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, with a £200,000–£250,000 estimate. The low end has gone up by £20,000. The car hasn’t changed hands in between, and it has covered only a few hundred more miles. RM Sothebys
Why this particular F355
Maranello Sales’ Tower Gate showroom in Egham delivered it to Clarkson in August 1996, registered P199 YPL, and the warranty card confirms him as first owner. He ordered it after a road test for his 1996 VHS special Unleashed on Cars, where he called the F355 “the greatest car in the world; ever.” rmsothebys
The spec is Rosso Corsa over Crema leather with Rosso carpets, a six-speed manual, and factory carbon-backed sports seats with red inserts, which Iconic describes as very rare on an F355. Clarkson didn’t drive it much. He wrote in Top Gear magazine in 2000 that four years of ownership had added only 6,000 miles. It then went to a Sunday Times reader as a prize. A third keeper owned it from March 2003 to February 2013, and the current owner bought it in 2013. Iconic Auctioneers – 1996 Ferrari F355 GTS – Manual – Delivered new to Jeremy Cla-For Sale
The engine is the reason anyone ordered one. Ferrari’s heritage page credits a new five-valve cylinder head with 380 hp from 3,496 cc, or 109 hp per litre. In the mid-’90s, that was race-car output from a naturally aspirated road car. ferrari
What’s changed since Cliveden
According to Iconic’s lot listing, about £9,345 went into the car in May 2025 for a full service, a new cambelt, steering-rack work, paint correction and detailing. In 2026 the interior was reconditioned, and the paint got more correction, machine polishing and a ceramic coating. RM catalogued it at 14,899 miles, and Iconic now quotes roughly 15,200. Iconic Auctioneers – 1996 Ferrari F355 GTS – Manual – Delivered new to Jeremy Cla-For Sale +2
Then there’s the exhaust. Iconic’s sale-room notice says the car now has its factory exhaust fitted and a fresh MOT running to 5 November 2027. “Now has its factory exhaust” implies it was recently wearing something else. On a car valued for its originality, ask what that other exhaust was, whether it comes with the car, and whether the factory system ever left the building. iconicauctioneers
The belt timing matters too. On an F355, a proper cambelt service traditionally means taking the engine out, which is why owners dread it. Belts age even when the car sits, so the May 2025 change gives the next owner a few years before the next one, not a free pass.
The Clarkson premium, in pounds
The best comparison comes from Iconic’s own results. In August 2025, Iconic offered a 1997 manual F355 GTS in Rosso Corsa with 22,800 miles at Silverstone, and it sold for £120,375. It also had a Crema interior and red carpets. iconicauctioneersiconicauctioneers
Now add the auction house’s cut. Iconic charges a buyer’s premium of 12.5% plus VAT, or 15% all-in. A hammer price at the low estimate means £230,000 out the door, and at the top it’s £287,500. That’s roughly £110,000 to £167,000 more than the Silverstone car, paid for a name on a warranty card and a few newspaper columns. iconicauctioneers
In July 2025, the room at Cliveden decided that premium wasn’t worth paying. Iconic is betting that a different crowd at the NEC Classic Motor Show will see it differently. The sale is also carrying Clarkson-branded traffic: it includes a 1983 Alfa Romeo GTV6 from his personal collection, used in The Grand Tour’s “Well Aged Scotch” episode, offered without reserve. Clarkson hasn’t owned the F355 since 2000, though, and Iconic’s listing gives no reserve figure. pistonheadsiconicauctioneers
What a buyer actually needs to know
Insurance. Get an agreed-value policy, and back the agreed value with documents. Most of this car’s value is its provenance. On a standard market-value policy, a write-off would pay out for an F355, not for Clarkson’s F355. The listing includes the original order correspondence from Maranello Sales, the warranty card and a large history file. Scan all of it and keep the originals out of the car. iconicauctioneers
Tax. Don’t expect a break soon. Under the UK’s rolling VED exemption, a vehicle qualifies on 1 April once it was built more than 40 years before 1 January of that year. A 1996 build doesn’t qualify until April 2037. gov.uk
Mileage. Clarkson’s 6,000 miles are the history buyers are paying for. Extra miles from a later owner add nothing to that story, but they don’t erase it either. Gentle use is probably better for the seals and hydraulics than sitting in a heated garage.
The underlying car is a well-specced manual GTS with recent, expensive maintenance. Would you pay six figures over a comparable F355 for Clarkson’s name on the warranty card, or is the 1997 GTS that went for £120,375 the one to chase?
Images Via: RM Sothebys
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