Autocar reports this week that Ferrari is to launch a convertible 575 at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2005. It will be called the 575 Super America, have a strictly limited run of 500 and, unlike its predecessor (see the 550 pic), sports a fancy new folding roof.
The report reckons that it will have a more powerful version of the 575's 5-litre V12 engine, boosting power from 508 bhp to 540 bhp. Some UK customers have already had a sneak preview of the car.
The roof itself is allegedly made of a carbon-fibre frame surrounding a single pane of glass, which can be electronically tinted in five discrete steps to prevent the driver frying in direct sunlight -- like that's a problem in the UK 11.5 months of the year.
Originally developed by Italian styling house Fioravanti, it retracts by pivoting and then flipping upside down into a modified rear panel.
The price of the new machine is likely to top £180,000.