In any case, the vented hood and the styling of the bumpers point towards a prototype based on the 670-horsepower 599 GTO, which was introduced into the range this past April, with some minor changes such as the California-esque LED headlamps. Watch the video right after the jump.
Read more »
Al-Essa has recently taken delivery of his thirty-third exotic, the first Ferrari 599 GTO worth £345,000 (US$557,000). In his own words:
Co-designed with Ferrari Centro Stile to celebrate 80 years of Italian design firm Pininfarina, the car was built partly as homage to Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina, the son and grandson respectively of company founder Battista Farina (latter Battista Pininfarina).
Like the Bugatti Veyron roadster, the SA Aperta features an emergency soft top [read: umbrella] and the same structural rigidity of the hardtop without adding any additional weight
Pricing is irrelevant as you can't buy one, at least not new. There is, however, an online configurator, which doesn't make any sense but anyways...
By Tristan Hankins
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
The wealthy American approached Ferrari in 2008 to produce a modern reinterpretation of the gold-coloured 1965 Ferrari 250GT NART Spyder featured in a 1968 Fellini short film called "Toby Dammit".
"I had always dreamed of designing sports cars," Walson explains, "and when I saw this film the decision came of its own accord: one day I would have 'my' Ferrari." And well, he did.
In case you didn't notice, the Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta is based on the 599 GTB Fiorano. The car was designed by Pininfarina and built in Maranello, with Ferrari claiming that Walson was directly involved in each stage of its development.
According to the Italians, while considerable effort went into strengthening the chassis after the roof was chopped off, the increase in weight was kept down to just 20 kg or 44 pounds by employing carbon-fibre extensively.
Ferrari said that from the initial sketches to the final, road-legal car, it took just 14 months to complete the project.
Those of you with a strong memory may remember that we first showed you the P540 Superfast Aperta earlier this year, though then, we didn't know any details about the one-off Prancing Horse model.
Technical specifications
Length 4731 mm
Width 1954 mm
Height 1300 mm
Wheelbase 2750 mm
Front track 1690 mm
Rear track 1620 mm
Engine
65° V12
Displacement 5999 cc
Maximum power 456 kW (620 CV) at 7600 rpm
Maximum torque 608 Nm (62 kgm) at 5600 rpm
Transmission
F1 6-speed gearbox
Tyres
Front 245/35 20"
Rear 305/35 20"
Fuel consumption
Combined cycle 17.9 l/100 km
CO2 emissions
Combined cycle 415 g/km
The single special Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano China Limited Edition designed by artist Lu Hao was auctioned off to an anonymous bidder from Shanghai at the Red Gate Gallery in Beijing on Tuesday for €1.2 million, or approx US$1.75 million at today's exchange rates. Based on a limited version of the 599 for the Chinese market, this one-of-a-kind Prancing Horse model is distinguished by the Song Dynasty Ge Kiln pottery patterns applied on the body.Along with the special 599, Ferrari also auctioned a few more objects from its collection including a racing overall worn by F1 driver, Giancarlo Fisichella and a helmet and a model car signed by Michael Schumacher (yes, that's him wearing the fuxia scarf), who unveiled the car to the international press this morning.
According to the Italian supercar maker, the proceeds from the auction will go to fund outstanding students and young teachers of Tsinghua University's Department of Automotive Engineering to study at Italy's Politecnico di Milano University and internship at Ferrari's headquarters.
Usually, you'd expect to see something like this happening to a Fiat 500 and not to high-end supercar like the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, but there are always exceptions to the rule. This one-off creation, which is based on a small series of specially-designed 599 GTB Fiorano China Limited Edition models, is signed by Chinese artist Lu Hao and it will be auctioned the 3rd of November at a special Gala Auction Event hosted by Ferrari in Beijing.
The special 599 GTB Fiorano incorporates a number of the features of the China Limited Edition cars that will be produced in a very limited series of less than a dozen examples finished in two-tone Rosso Fuoco with silver roof and distinguished by unique design elements such as the Chinese characters on the starter button and the tachometer, and the unique luggage set.
The one-off model is further distinguished by the special exterior finish that draws inspiration from the famous Ge Kiln porcelain of the Song Dynasty. The artist used a "cracked" glaze pattern with clearly defined cracks etched at different depths to achieve the porcelain look.
"The 599 China Limited Edition model is a true masterpiece, combining rich Chinese artistic heritage with Italian design in a most spectacular way," said Marco Mattiacci, CEO of Ferrari Asia Pacific.
We'd say that while it may look cool from an artistic perspective, we find it a little too gaudy for our automotive tastes.
