In a recent article entitled 'Is that a Ferrari in your portfolio?' the Wall Street Journal looked into alternative assets which, since the economic downturn in 2008, have been attracting international investors, including classic cars where Ferraris have proved to be the best investments. The influential US daily underlines the conspicuous rise in classic car values over the past few years with important Ferrari models increasing on average by 28 per cent this year alone.

These trends are particularly evident in recent auction results for the most desirable models, such as the 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa that sold at Pebble Beach in 2011 for $16,390,000 and the 1960 250 California Competizione that sold at the same venue this year for $11,275,000. According to the latest Classic Car Auction Yearbook, Ferraris accounted for no fewer than 37 of the 100 top auction sales over the 2011-2012 season, and 35 of those Ferraris sold for over $1 million.

Even without referring to such extraordinary auction results, the market shows a strong underlying trend for collectible Ferraris and interest has also grown as a direct result of the company setting up a dedicated department, Ferrari Classiche, that provides certificates of authenticity which testify to the originality of a car, as well as offering ground-up restorations using the factory's exhaustive archives.