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Fast Car for Slow Hand: Eric Clapton Spends $4.75 Million on One-Off Ferrari

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Maybe Eric Clapton decided he deserved a special birthday present -- from himself.

Clapton, who will turn 67 this Friday, recently blew 3 million pounds (about $4.75 million US) on a one-off Ferrari built by the company's secretive Special Projects division, reports London's Daily Mail.

Clapton is a renowned car collector who owns some of the greatest Ferraris ever built. But for his latest indulgence, he worked with Ferrari to rebody a model 458 Italia. The new creation was designed as an homage to Clapton's old 1970s Ferrari 512, which the guitarist crashed a few years back.

The car, which doesn't have a model name or number, bears a distinctive license plate, SP 12 EPC, which, according to the Daily Mail, is understood to represent Special Projects plus the guitarist's initials (The P is for Patrick).

Although Ferrari hasn't disclosed the car's price tag, experts suggest it cost Clapton 3 million pounds, based on past creations by the Special Projects division. This makes it six times more expensive than Ferrari's most expensive production car, the Enzo.

For more on this story -- and car -- watch the shaky video below and check out the Daily Mail's story.

Damian Fanelli
Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.