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Record-breaking BLUE stallion: This rare 1989 Ferrari F40 is the first motor to sell for over £1million on an online-only classic car auction platform in the UK.

Ferrari F40s are super rare. But blue Ferrari F40s are like gold dust. That's because - officially - all 1,311 to leave the Maranello factory between 1987 and 1992 were painted red.

However, this one-of-a-kind example is blue. And not just any shade of blue. It's actually based on a Porsche colour, which is enough to make a Tifosi member scoff.

This month the stand-out F40 was offered to auction with The Market and, achieving a sale price of £1,000,500 has become the first seven-figure car to be sold on an online platform for collectible models in Europe.

It's the latest example of the blossoming online classic car market, with collectors now hitting a button on their laptops rather than raising a paddle in auction rooms to get their hands on the models they want.

While records show that there were only red Ferrari F40s built, a handful were believed to be painted yellow and black - and the Sultan of Brunei certainly sent back some of the examples in his 11-strong collection of F40s to be resprayed.

However, tracking down a non-Rosso Corsa red is like finding a needle in a haystack these days.

Apart from arguably the most famous - certainly most photographed - non-red F40 of all, which is this record-setting example.

That's because it has become something of a worldwide social media star due to its ultra-rare blue livery and influencer owner, Sam Moores, who is the a freelance photographer, creator of the popular Car Chat podcast and boasts almost 67,000 followers on Instagram.

He also set up a unique 'f40blu' Instagram account for the car, which has over 4,000 followers.

When this particular example left the factory in 1989 it was red, as it remained for two decades.

It was shipped to Japan in 2004 after being purchased by famous tuners Liberty Walk and in 2010 was converted by the company to LM spec and painted white.

Four years later, Joe Macari Performance Cars in London acquired the car and offered it for sale.

Moores bought the F40, though with the proviso it would be stripping down, rebuilt to factory specification and changed to Aqua Blue metallic paint - which is officially a Porsche colour that's commonly seen on the German brand's 911.

Ferrari F40: Will it fit in my garage (if I have £1million)?

Production: 1987-1992

Manufactured: Maranello, Italy

Volume built: 1,311

Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol

Gearbox: 5-speed manual

Drive: Rear-wheel drive

Power: 478bhp

Acceleration 0-62mph: 4.1 seconds

Top speed: 201mph

Length: 4,430 mm

Width: 1,981mm

Height: 1,130mm

Weight: 1,250kg (unladen)

Fuel economy: 19mpg (combined)

#Recordbreaking #BLUEstallion