Prestige cars fly out the door

A 1999 Ferrari 360 Modena F1 (L) and a 2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (R) went under the hammer yesterday. Photos / Herald on Sunday

It wasn't your average Saturday afternoon shopping trip.

Christopher Gibbs walked away from a luxury car auction in Auckland yesterday with two vehicles - one for him and the other for his wife, Melissa.

The 49-year-old bought a 2005 Ferrari 612 Scagletti with only 1000km on the clock for $255,500 less than half its normal retail price.

He also bagged a 1999 Ferrari 360 Modena, usually worth $390,000, for a cool $105,000.

Gibbs, who owns three Waikato cattle farms and a Lamborghini tractor he uses "every day", said his purchases were a spur-of-the-moment decision during a "boys' day out" with his 11-year-old son and father-in-law.

"We were just going to go to the movies or something but then I read about the auction. We used to have a yellow Ferrari but it got written off, so when I saw the yellow one there I thought 'Why not?'. It's a good car for my wife. The other one is for me - you've got to have your toys."

Cars worth more than $2 million were sold in the sale at Turners Auction.

There was little sign of the recession as 1000 people turned up to see 11 Ferraris, Maseratis and Porsches sold for more than $1.2 million.