If you scan the papers or turn on the news, you’ll hear that more Americans than ever before are getting food stamps or living below the poverty level. A certain segment of the population, however, has money and isn’t afraid to spend it.

Consider this year’s Neiman Marcus “Fantasy Gift” automobile, a 2012 Ferrari FF Neiman Marcus Edition. Despite a price tag of $395,000 (or $95k more than a dealer-purchased Ferrari FF), the 10 available cars sold out in just 50 minutes.

If you’re wondering why people would spend the cost equivalent of three well-equipped Mustang GTs just to get a Neiman Marcus Ferrari FF, there are several reasons.

First, you get exclusivity, since only the ten NM edition cars will be sprayed in “Grigio Caldo,” and each one wears a numbered interior plaque.

Next, there’s a trip to the Ferrari Winter Driving Experience in Aspen, CO that’s included in the purchase price of the car. You don’t even have to flog your own FF through the Colorado snow; it’s an arrive-and-drive program, using Ferrari’s FFs instead of your own.

Most importantly, you’ll get your new Ferrari FF much sooner than the other buyers, who will be waiting as long as two years for delivery. NM edition cars are scheduled to be delivered in the spring of 2012, which means you get to be the first guy at your country club driving Ferrari’s new shooting brake.

The 2012 Ferrari FF Neiman Marcus Edition joins a long line of “Fantasy Gift” cars from the uber-exclusive retailer. In 2010, the NM edition 2011 Chevy Camaro Convertible, priced at $75,000, sold out in just 3 minutes.

Times were tough the year before: as the duPont Registry points out, it took Neiman Marcus four hours to sell out its 2010 Jaguar XJ L Supercharged Neiman Marcus Edition.