MADRID: Spain's government has been unable to sell two Ferraris given as gifts to former king Juan Carlos because only a single bid came in for the vehicles at auction.

The bid was for less than half of the reserve price of 350,000 euro (£250,000) placed on each car.

The Ferrari FF four-seater models were given to Juan Carlos by the United Arab Emirates in 2011 and barely have more than delivery mileage.

The king donated the cars to the state in 2012 and the finance ministry decided to auction them.

The ministry said the auction went ahead but only one sealed bid was received for less than 50% of the minimum required. It did not say what would happen to the cars now.