Ferrari 458 Speciale that James May only bought as a joke ended up earning him a cool $230,000
Published on Apr 24, 2026 at 4:42 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Apr 24, 2026 at 4:42 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
In 2015, James May bought a Ferrari 458 Speciale almost by accident.
He ordered the car right before the ‘fracas’ that ended Top Gear, but he still decided to go ahead with the purchase after leaving the BBC.
It was clearly the right decision, because over a decade later, the supercar is worth nearly twice as much.
Not bad for a car he bought as a joke.
Both Clarkson and Hammond often joked about May’s ‘fake’ humility
Part of what made Top Gear – and The Grand Tour – great was the trio’s ability to ruthlessly make fun of one another.
When it comes to James May, he was obviously known as ‘Captain Slow’ but – and this may have gone unnoticed – both Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson often joked about his perceived modesty.
In an episode of The Grand Tour, Hammond mocked May with an impression.
“I’m very modest. That’s why I drive a yellow Ferrari,” Hammond joked.
This was part of a recurring theme because May was the only one of the trio who had full access to Ferrari’s line-up, and that’s because he was the only Ferrari owner.
A while back, James May was given the opportunity to drive the Ferrari LaFerrari, and even though this wasn’t exactly advertised, it wasn’t a one-off: May was often Top Gear‘s designated Ferrari test driver due to his relationship with the brand.
This accounts for half the reason he bought a 458 Speciale over a decade ago.
The other half is hilarious.
Why James May bought a Ferrari 458 Speciale
In 2015, an ‘altercation’ on the Top Gear set, less than a year after the infamous license plate incident, led to the end of Top Gear as we knew it.
No one was fired, technically, as Clarkson’s contract didn’t get renewed, while both May and Hammond left because they felt they couldn’t carry on as a duo.
At that point, all three were already famous and, let’s face it, rich, which is why May ‘celebrated’ his new unemployment status by buying a Ferrari 458 Speciale.
May had actually ordered the car before the incident, but still decided to go through with the purchase, and ended up calling the Speciale his ‘unemployment car.’
When he bought it, the car had a ticket price well north of $300,000.
It’s worth nearly twice as much now.
Not a bad result for what was essentially a joke.
After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
