PaddlUp say arrivederci to beloved Ferrari F40

The PaddlUp-branded Ferrari F40 has served as an unforgettable ambassador for our first year of operation and in the build-up to our official launch. During that time, the F40 has attended numerous events with our team, played a huge part in developing our brand image through promotional materials and become synonymous with the organisation.

The end of an era

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Supercar investment is a crucial part of our offering, and a big part of investing is selling when the time is right. We’d be remiss then, if we didn’t accept an offer in keeping with that sentiment and so reluctantly, we sold our cherished ‘big five’ car, the Ferrari F40.

Practice what you preach

Part of PaddlUp’s business approach is dealing with cars off-platform, and this methodology was implemented in the case of the F40. In many cases, this satisfies the demands of both sellers and buyers with a discreet peer-to-peer service. Some of the performance cars, sports cars and supercars we handle are never publicised, marketed or known to any third parties. This is what helps to make PaddlUp unique. We operate with autonomy, often working with high-net-worth individuals, celebrities and their agents who we contact with specific prospects.

Back to the beginning

To understand the full story, we must first take you back to before we bought this iconic eighties supercar. When our Co-Founder Joe Priday discovered this particular classiche example it was in a condition perhaps undeserving of such a rare, unique, and frankly stunning piece of engineering. It offered an attractive proposition to add value, as it had clearly been driven and used, and was by no means a garage queen. It was clean but definitely not Concours.

At that point, Joe purchased the car at a value befitting its condition in Autumn 2017 and set to work with a restoration plan to bring it back to factory-fresh condition, but wanted to have some fun in the meantime.

Then, when PaddlUp came into being thanks to Joe and PaddlUp CEO Tim Mayneord, the F40 found a new lease of life. It was wrapped in the brand colours – initially to mixed reviews from those who saw it – and began causing quite a stir on the automotive events circuit. Eventually, the naysayers were won over by its charm and it quickly became ‘the face’ of PaddlUp.

To have the car wrapped without any threat of its value decreasing, Ferrari Classiche was consulted and approved the request on the proviso that it underwent a specified restoration plan of its choosing within three years. When it came to the wrap itself there was only one man for the job, Yiannimize was enlisted in April 2021 and by June of that year, we were ready to launch the PaddlUp brand with a truckload of impact.

Making headlines

From that point on, the F40 spread the PaddlUp message far and wide – in fact, we racked up 5,000 miles in that time! Even before the business had had its full-fat launch, the car appeared at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021 as seen in GQ, Supercar Fest 2021 and Stonor Supercar Sunday. In 2022, there were even more events like Bicester Heritage Scramble, Auto Italia and Festival of Speed once more, again featuring in GQ, before it took the media by storm as the ultimate prom car (as seen in the Birmingham Mail and The Sun). It also adorned a temporary Gas Monkey Garage & FHO Racing livery for the Isle Of Man TT. 

PaddlUp advocates investing with a target asset value in mind. In essence, when the value or time period you established at the time of purchase is reached then it's time to sell the asset. Quite often, the value will still be on an upward trajectory which will lead to a snappy sale and a positive start for the next investor. 

When the opportunity presented itself earlier in mid-2022 to sell the F40 for a healthy – not to mention tax-free – 80 per cent ROI (return on investment) and at the target value, it seemed too good to miss. Besting property investment and traditional stocks and shares coupled with the usable asset factor as well as an absence of tax and legal fees mean a well-thought-out supercar investment strategy quickly becomes a difficult proposition to dispel. 

There have been more expensive Ferrari sold at auction, but the more accessible price point – although still not cheap by any stretch of the imagination – and greater production numbers cement the F40’s position as one of the ultimate investment cars on the market.

The Lexus LFA's departure 

That’s not all either. The PaddlUp F40’s lesser-known sibling, the Lexus LFA, may not have donned the brand colours at any point, but that didn’t mean it was any less of an ambassador for our innovative performance, sports and supercar sales platform.

In stark contrast to the F40, the LFA was discovered by Priday in immaculately preserved condition with much of its factory protective film intact (the only things missing were the seat cover and steering wheel badge plastic). Once again, it was PPF’d as well as religiously maintained by Gazoo every 12 months without fail. When maintaining a car of this calibre, maintenance costs must be factored into your profit margin, with each service costing an eye-watering £4,000, but ensuring its pristine condition and value is upheld.

Again, this car spent some time in Joe’s private collection before joining the F40 and the 722 SLR as PaddlUp’s hero cars and drummed up conversation at numerous events including London Concours and Hampton court - courtesy of Chubb insurance and MR JWW.

The opportune moment

At the time of purchase, Priday set out a hard-stop target figure and with an offer for said figure on the table thanks to PaddlUp's consignment team, he made the difficult decision to sell. Reaching that desired amount meant a total tax-free ROI of 80 per cent matching that of the F40. For less initial investment, the LFA yielded the same returns highlighting that lucrative investment opportunities can be found throughout the used car market at a variety of price points, you just need to identify the right time to buy and the right time to sell. 

We practice what we preach at PaddlUp, both of these assets achieved and indeed surpassed their initial target objective, and ahead of time so it ended up as a double-double win-win.

You may now be asking, what’s next for PaddlUp? Do we have any eye-catching cars in the works that will become the next brand car or investment case study? All we can say at this stage is to watch this space! Keep your eyes peeled to our social channels and newsroom in the coming months to find out.

Learn more about supercar investing.