Leave the LS behind and stuff this LaFerrari V-12 in your next project car

Crate engines are all the rage. Events like SEMA and the Grand National Roadster Show highlight the endless number of creations that can be built using these power plants in a box. The Big Three have embraced the hot rod culture with open arms by selling the latest and greatest from their engine production plants a la carte, but supercar brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini are a little more cagey.

That cold shoulder leaves anyone looking for something exotic and different for their build scouring for wrecked cars to source such exotic powerplants. From Copart to eBay, owners or dismantlers of damaged cars are doing their best to hawk the parts such oddball car builders are craving. Example: a 2017 Ferrari LaFerrari V-12 currently on sale via eBay.

Yes, this 789-horsepower 12-cylinder screamer was plucked straight from the engine compartment of Ferrari’s supercar crown jewel. This one comes from a seller that appears to be an experienced purveyor of such parts from wrecked or otherwise salvaged exotics. 

The price tag on this V-12 is a hefty $800,000. For my money that’s, frankly, absurd—mainly because the LaFerrari’s major technical achievement was the hybrid electric system that paired with this 12-part choir of angels. The listing doesn’t clarify if the hybrid components are included with the sale, but based on the three slightly out of focus photos provided, it appears you will be left wanting for the engine computer more than the electric bits. And by the way, you can purchase two brand new 812 Superfasts (which come equipped with an extremely similar engine) for comparable money. 

Strange as it is to see this engine listed for sale—with just 20 miles claimed no less—it is even weirder when you realize this is the second time it has been listed on eBay. The seller seems to think his 12-cylinder chest of gold has appreciated significantly since its last listing in 2017, when it had an asking price of $285,000. The photos are exactly the same, too.

Is this even a real listing? Does the engine exist outside of fuzzy eBay pictures? Honestly, I have my doubts. I could be wrong, though, and if you press the Buy-it-Now button and move forward on plans to swap it into something, please give me a heads up. ‘Cause I gotta see that.