A Leica camera prototype designed by Jony Ive is going up for auction

What you need to know

• A Leica camera prototype, designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson, is going up for auction.
• The auction will take place in June and could see almost $300,000 change hands.

It could sell for almost $300,000.

A prototype Leica camera, designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson, will go up for auction in June later this year. The camera is described as being in B+ condition but is still expected to bring in as much as $300,000 according to auctioneer Leitz Photographica Auction.

The auction, which was first spotted by The Verge, has a starting price of €100.000 which is around $118,000. However, it is expected to sell for considerably more than that.

The camera itself isn't actually mentioned as working – that's probably something you should check before getting your bid in.

The story goes that this was a prototype of the Leica M for (RED) which was a special camera created so it could be sold for charity. This prototype does look similar to the final product, although someone decided to ditch the almost mirror finish in favor of something a little less likely to capture fingerprints.

From the auctioneer:

"A beautifully sculptured aluminium body with a matching Apo-Summicron 2/50 mm ASPH. lens — both showing distinctive features both designers are famous for. Only one finished camera has been made and was sold in an auction in 2013 for an amazing $ 1.8 M! The prototype we have the pleasure to offer shows the final development step when the camera took its final shape after hundreds of prototype parts have been made and tried. It is a beautiful piece of design and a very special opportunity for Leica collectors!"

Jony Ive left Apple last year and is now working on his own firm alongside Newson. It isn't clear how much of an input Ive had in the iPhone 12 design. The same goes for the latest round of some of the best Macs Apple has ever made.