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Fernando Alonso did not try to buy the Pope’s Ferrari. The “gazumping” was a near-match between auction prices: New Atlas reported that Alonso’s former 2002 Ferrari Enzo sold for €5.4 million in 2023, close to the $6.05 million paid for Pope John Paul II’s Enzo in 2015. The two sales involved different cars, years, venues and currencies, so the comparison is a headline hook—not a like-for-like valuation.
What “almost gazumped” means in this story
“Gazumped” is wordplay about the auction results, not a claim that Alonso outbid the Pope, pursued the papal car or was displaced as its owner. The comparison is between two Ferrari Enzos: one associated with Alonso and one donated for charity after a Vatican audience.
New Atlas’s July 5, 2023 account gives the reported results as €5,400,000 for Alonso’s former car at MonacoCarAuctions in 2023 and $6,050,000 for the Pope’s car at RM Sotheby’s in 2015. Those amounts are quoted as reported; the euro and dollar results are not a controlled comparison of value across currencies, years or sale conditions. New Atlas’s account of the two Enzo sales
Why the Pope had a Ferrari Enzo
The Pope in this auction story was John Paul II. Ferrari’s connection with the papacy predated the Enzo donation: New Atlas recounts that John Paul II visited Maranello on June 4, 1988. Enzo Ferrari, too ill to attend in person, spoke with him by telephone; Enzo Ferrari died on August 14 that year.
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On January 17, 2005, John Paul II received a Ferrari delegation at the Vatican. New Atlas says the group included Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Piero Ferrari, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Luca Badoer and Jean Todt. Ferrari had initially planned to present the Pope with a scale model of its F2004 Formula One car. Instead, the company pledged its 400th and final Enzo for the benefit of tsunami victims.
The two Enzo sales, in sequence
The Pope’s Enzo: a charity pledge, then two reported sales
New Atlas reports that the Pope’s Enzo sold in June 2005 at a Ferrari-only Sotheby’s sale for €950,000 (US$1,149,025, the dollar conversion reported by New Atlas). Proceeds were to benefit victims of the Boxing Day tsunami. The car later appeared at RM Sotheby’s Pinnacle Collection sale during Monterey Car Week, where it reportedly sold for $6,050,000 on August 13, 2015.
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Alonso’s former Enzo: Monaco in 2023
New Atlas reports that Alonso’s former 2002 Ferrari Enzo sold for €5,400,000 (US$5,824,440, as reported by the article) at MonacoCarAuctions’ debut sale in May 2023, held alongside Top Marques. That result brought the headline comparison close to the Pope car’s 2015 dollar result. The available account does not establish matching condition, specification, fees or other sale terms for the two cars.
How the cars and sales differ
| Car | Provenance described in the reporting | Reported sale | Sale context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pope John Paul II’s Ferrari Enzo, described as the 400th and final Enzo | Pledged by Ferrari in 2005 to benefit tsunami victims | €950,000 in June 2005; later $6,050,000 on August 13, 2015 | Ferrari-only Sotheby’s sale in 2005; RM Sotheby’s Pinnacle Collection during Monterey Car Week in 2015 |
| Fernando Alonso’s former 2002 Ferrari Enzo | Formerly owned by Alonso | €5,400,000 in May 2023 (US$5,824,440 as reported by New Atlas) | MonacoCarAuctions’ debut sale, alongside Top Marques |
All figures and sale details in the table are reported by New Atlas; they were not independently checked against auction catalogs or sale records. New Atlas’s reported dollar conversions should not be read as verified exchange-rate calculations at the time of sale.
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Was Alonso ever asked to drive the Popemobile?
A separate episode may explain why the two stories are easy to conflate. Crash.net reported on April 8, 2026, that in 2011 Alonso’s name was proposed for driving Pope Benedict XVI’s Popemobile during a visit to Spain. The report attributes the account to Yago de la Cierva, coordinator of papal trips to Spain, and says the proposal was rejected in favor of a national police officer. It is a separate reported proposal—not part of the Enzo auction story. Crash.net’s report on the 2011 proposal
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