Celebrated Brazilian race car champion Emerson Fittipaldi already had a private home on Key Biscayne when he paid $4.5 million for a penthouse a few miles away in Miami’s Coconut Grove.

Fittipaldi, a semiretired driver who once dominated the Formula One World Championship and Indianapolis 500, said he saw a chance to get ahead of the curve and score another win—this time in real estate.