EXCLUSIVE Ferrari $2m hybrid supercar for Australia

A handful of the fastest, most powerful and most capable Ferrari ever built -- the LaFerrari unveiled at last month’s Geneva motor show -- will likely become static collector pieces in Australia. The only time they can be driven in anger is on a private racetrack because it will be made in left-hand-drive only.

Despite the hurdles Ferrari Australasia says it has been overwhelmed by the response to the prancing horse’s most technically advanced car, and it is now sorting through the customer applications to be invited to buy one of the rare machines.

“We’ve received more than 20 CVs to be invited to buy the car,” the president and CEO of Ferrari Australasia, Herbert Appleroth, told News Limited. “Australia won’t be allocated anywhere near that amount so we are going through the applications now.”

Australia and New Zealand are expected to get fewer than five of the 499 cars to be made over the next three years.

As is customary among supercar makers, Ferrari will not reveal who is on the list of potential buyers. But famous Ferrari supercar owners and car collectors in Australia include transport magnate Lindsay Fox, car dealer Laurie Sutton and retired Coca-Cola chief executive Dean Wills, who also owns a private road on the northern outskirts of Sydney.

“We never reveal the identity of our buyers and we certainly never reveal the identity of our collectors,” Appleroth said. Ferrari says famous and high profile people won’t necessarily qualify to be eligible for a LaFerrari “invitation to purchase”.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re famous or not. It’s not based on who you are. The decision is based on loyalty and passion for Ferrari,” Appleroth said. “You would not believe the famous people [internationally] who won’t be invited to purchase.”

Ferrari and other exotic car makers are keen to avoid selling their most prestigious models to Hollywood stars and music artists.

Some rappers, such as 50 Cent, and singers, such as Justin Bieber, have a reputation for “pimping” their rides with gaudy colour schemes, lowered suspension and oversized chrome wheels, which the car makers say detract from the engineering integrity of the vehicles and the image of their brand.

Ferraris have proven to be a good investment over the years. The world record price for a car sold at auction is a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that went under the hammer for $US16,390,000 in 2011. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the value of classic Ferraris have appreciated at a faster rate than gold over the past three years.

The LaFerrari is powered by a 6.2-litre V12 engine matched to a high-output electric motor that will boost acceleration once the car is already on the move.

Unlike the Toyota Prius, which can idle and move from rest silently using electric power, the LaFerrari is understood to leave the V12 running at idle because customers want to hear the Ferrari engine.

Last year Ferrari sold more than 7500 cars globally -- its highest annual tally ever -- and posted its biggest profit based on growth in emerging markets and in particular China.

Ferrari sold 1500 cars in its first 53 years in Australia -- and 1000 cars in the past seven years.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling