One-off Ferrari SP51 revealed
Unique SP51 is Maranello's first front-engined V12 spider in 50 years...
If ever you needed proof that there are more than a few people left with quite a lot of money, just look at the Prancing Horse’s One-Off series. There’s a new one seemingly every six months, because a Ferrari, apparently, is just not good enough for some unless it’s unique. The latest is called the Ferrari SP51. It’s for a fella called Alan, who’s a salesman and lives with his wife and two children at number 21 Acacia Avenue in Stockton-on-Tees. That bit's not true, although we wish it was. As is often the case, the individuals who ask for these cars like to stay anonymous, so all we know is that ‘Alan’ is a ‘longstanding Taiwan-based client who is also one of our leading collectors’.
What’s ‘Alan’ asked for, then? Well, a roadster without a roof, it seems. Literally no roof. The styling was the work of Flavio Manzoni’s Ferrari Styling Centre, working on the front-engined, V12 foundations of the 812 GTS platform. The car sports unique headlights and wheels, which have a two-tone, diamond-cut finish and carbon-fibre elements on each of the spokes.
Immediately behind the cabin there are carbon fibre scoops and behind those, two flying buttresses that extend back to the high tail, with the rear lights inset beneath the integrated spoiler. Underneath that, you'll find four large tailpipes and sizeable diffuser. Apparently the ‘resulting effect is vaguely reminiscent of a Targa-type car in which the flying bridge elegantly conceals the anti-roll hoop, a nod to the solution adopted on Ferrari’s early-1960s Sports Prototypes.’
The colour scheme of custom Rosso Passionale red paint with a blue and white stripe running the length of the car was ‘inspired by a legendary 1955 Ferrari 410 S.' We’re often told these one-offs involve a very intimate process between the owner and factory, and Ferrari says ‘the client was involved every step of the way’ but ‘it has to be the cabin where dizzying new heights of craftsmanship and creativity have been reached’.
Those dizzying heights include using the same custom exterior colour for the Alcantara seats, and the exterior stripe appears inside as well – you can see it running up the rear bulkhead.
The white and blue is also apparent in the seat and steering wheel stitching, while there’s a special finish for the door panels, along with the lower section of the dashboard and sides of the seats. It’s a blue Kvadrat insert with white cross-stitching, while elsewhere there’s a glossy carbon fibre trim that goes with the Nero Momo Opaco elements. Apparently it’s Maranello’s first front-engined V12 spider in 50 years. And from what we can see, ‘Alan’s’ a very lucky man. Looks great.
Haven't got time to go down the list exhaustively, but it is possible that this is the first Ferrari in yonks that offers absolutely no weather protection at all...?
I don't count the Monza SP1 and 2 as Spiders ,more Barchettas .
Whatever ,I think this is lovely , could have been in any other colour but red though .
also a minute too late .
So it’s a roadster
Designed by the Flavio Manzoni-headed Ferrari Styling Centre, the SP51 is a front-engined V12 spider based on the 812 GTS platform from which it inherits its layout, chassis and engine. At first sight, the stunning new car’s most striking characteristic is its total absence of a roof, making it an authentic roadster in every respect, accentuating both its sporty character and ability to captivate both visually and in terms of en plein air driving exhilaration.
It’s an outright lie.
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