2008 Fiat 500 by Tracey Emin

(from Fiat Press Release)  FIAT 500 SELLS FOR £200,000!

It has to be the most expensive Fiat 500 in the world – and at £200,000, it turned out to be one of the star lots at an amazing fund-raising charity auction in London last week.

Generous donors from the ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) charity raised an incredible £25 million for children at a gala reception in the Royal Naval College, Greenwich on Thursday (5 June) with an auction which included the iconic Fiat.

It wasn’t just any 500 though. This was one of four specially designed and painted examples of the supermini which took the art world by storm last year, designed and painted by acclaimed English artist Tracey Emin.

The work, entitled ‘Dark, Dark, Dark’, was among lots which included diamonds, a safari holiday, a speaking role in actress Uma Thurman’s next film, Eloise in Paris, use of a luxury yacht, fashion pieces and other works of art.

“We were very pleased with how the car was received,” says Charlotte Locks-Moro, the charity’s event executive. “The £200,000 it raised is not only an amazing amount of money for a car, but it was also a significant sum towards the total we raised for charity. We are absolutely delighted.”

More than 1,200 guests attended the auction, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the actress Uma Thurman and model superstar Liz Hurley.

ARK is a charity organisation made up of financial institutions, including City hedge funds, and personal donors. It raises millions of pounds every year for good causes in areas such as tackling HIV in Africa, children in care in Eastern Europe, and inner city education in the UK.

The first of the Tracey Emin-designed cars, called ‘I Told You Not To’ went under the hammer for £42,000 last October during the Contemporary Art Auction in London.