The Ferrari 900 - the only motorcycle in the world officially endorsed by Italian automotive giants Ferrari - went under the auctioneer's hammer on Sunday and fetched a sizeable return of £85,500. The price was in keeping with the expected returns on the sale, which was estimate at between £75,000 and £100,000.

The bike, which was written about in an earlier IBTimes UK report, has a 900cc engine producing 105hp at 8800rpm and is capable of 0-60mph in less than three second with a top speed of 160mph. The stunning machine was handcrafted and took more than 3,000 hours to be built. It was crafted between 1990 and 1995 as a tribute to the man behind the Ferrari brand - the legendary Enzo Ferrari - by a British engineer called David Kay.

According to The Bike Insurer, the bike has a double overhead camshaft, four-cylinder, eight-valve engine and a five-speed gearbox. In Kay's own words, it purrs along "like a Messerschmitt chasing a Spitfire". It's typical Ferrari red bodywork is completely aluminum and weighs in at only 172kg.

Finally, a report on popular BBC programme Top Gear's Web site said Kay had "very sensibly in our opinion, to keep it as an objet d'art in his drawing room at home."

According to Bonhams' pre-auction listing, Kay was inspired by the fact Ferrari started his modest racing career on a Scott two-stroke bike and so wrote to Piero Ferrari (Enzo Ferrari's son), asking for permission to build a one-off motorcycle sporting the famous prancing horse badge. The approval was granted on 23 May, 1990.

The auction of the Ferrari 900 was, predictably, a big event and received attention from Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

The identity of the buyer, at this moment, is unknown.

Ferrari 900
(credit: Bonhams)
Ferrari 900
Ferrari 900 Bonhams
Ferrari 900
Ferrari 900 Bonhams
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