Solid-gold scale model Ford being auctioned for price of a full-scale sedan

If you’re one of the prospective customers whose application for a brand-new Ford GT was denied, but you still fancy treating yourself for Christmas, Sotheby’s may have the answer for you.

It is a replica or the re-imagined first-generation GT that arrived in 2006, itself a tribute to the Le Mans-winning GT40 from the 1960s. It is 7 ¼ inches by 3 ¼ inches, was built by Ahee Jewelers of Grosse Point, Michigan, and is said to be the only one in existence.

It reportedly was commissioned by a “descendent” of Sir Henry Ford to commemorate the centennial of the Blue Oval. And it’s on sale at auction through Sotheby’s for an estimated US$30,000 to $40,000.

To put that into perspective, that kind of money could get you a base-level Honda Civic Type-R or more than a dozen magnums of Bugatti champagne. Yes, really.

So, yes, a colossal amount of loose change to fish out of the couch for effectively a grandiose paperweight, but it does start to make sense — sort of — when you realize this meticulous 1/25-scale replica is made entirely from two-toned 18-karat gold, aside from the tires, and even they replicate the tread pattern on the actual production GT.

As galling a prospect as it is (you really would not want to drop this thing) the model apparently “encourages interaction from the admirer,” given that both doors open, as do the trunk and engine bay.

Fortunately you won’t have to worry about your new gold acquisition either rolling off of or buckling your desk and chequebook, because the gold Ford weighs only 1.5 kilograms and comes with its own bespoke, if slightly weathered, display case.