If Ferrari Goes Bankrupt, Will Car Prices Soar or Crash?

It depends on how Ferrari does in the future—if demand stays high, the price will go up.

The thing is, we don’t really know what would happen if Ferrari went bankrupt or what the demand for their cars would look like. But honestly, I think Ferrari would still be Ferrari. It’s a pretty iconic supercar brand, so even if they go under, there’d probably still be strong demand for their cars. In fact, I’d guess the prices would actually go up—once the factory’s gone, you can’t just order a new one anymore.

It all comes down to one thing: demand. Even if the factory shuts down, if the car wasn’t popular to begin with, I doubt anyone’s going to pay a premium for it. But if it was in demand, that’s a whole different story. Demand is really what drives all of this.

So far, I don’t think there’s any shortage of demand for classic Ferraris — the prices are still high and people love them. Just look at early '90s Ferraris: they used to be relatively affordable, but now the prices are creeping up. People already know what those cars are about, and they see them as profitable collector items. That kind of mindset makes more people hunt for them, which pushes the prices even higher. It’s not like you can just go to Maranello and order one.

Take the 250 GTO, for example — the price keeps going up because demand never really stops. You basically can’t buy one anymore, and it’s an iconic car, so of course the price is through the roof. The same thing goes for newer models, especially limited editions. Some sources say the Ferrari F80 is being marked up by several million dollars by certain dealers, and I think that’s just because demand is so high. That kind of hype only fuels more demand and raises market prices — even if Ferrari were to shut down or go bankrupt. Plus, there are plenty of other cars whose values have shot up even after the companies that built them closed.

One example I know of is Holden. It was a GM subsidiary that shut down a few years ago, which ended up slightly pushing up the price of its classic models on the market. I noticed some Australians were even willing to travel overseas just to buy old Holdens. They usually get a better deal abroad since prices aren’t as high as they are in Australia. That’s probably due to demand, and maybe also because the factory closed, so the value went up a bit.

On the other hand, I think if Ferrari ever went bankrupt, a bunch of manufacturers would be lining up to buy them. It’s a supercar company with tons of experience, so of course there’d be a lot of interest—especially from companies that know the industry well. Honestly, it would probably be one of the best deals out there if it ever happened, and I can totally see companies lining up for a shot at it.

Let’s say Ferrari does go bankrupt. I think there are plenty of European companies, like VW and other big conglomerates, that could easily buy them pretty quickly. It wouldn’t be that hard for them—they’ve got the money, the valuation, and the resources to pull it off. That said, the chances of Ferrari actually going bankrupt seem really low. And even if it did happen, their classic cars would still be super expensive and in demand. People will always want those cars.

But I think if Ferrari ever went bankrupt, the price of its classic cars would still stay high. I mean, it's still Ferrari, you know? People get what the brand stands for, and there's always going to be some value in a car like that. The price wouldn’t just drop overnight because the company went under—unless, of course, there was some huge scandal or controversy that came with it. In that case, maybe people would start “canceling” Ferraris and the prices might dip. There are a lot of factors at play, and it’s hard to list them all.