HAutos

Custom Ferrari One-Off Comes To America

Concorso Italiano’s organizers recently announced that SP1, the first authentic, factory-sanctioned, one-off custom job care of Ferrari’s Special Projects division, will make its North American debut at the annual event at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey, California.

In 1998, noted Japanese Ferrari collector Junichiro Hiramatsu saw a concept car called the F100 penned by former Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti to commemorate the 100th birthday of Enzo Ferrari. The ensuing dialog between Hiramatsu, Ferrari, and Fioravanti led to the commissioning of a one-off based on the F430 chassis and power train. It was formally presented in September 2008 as the inaugural car of the Special Projects division. Visually rooted in the F430, the SP1 offers new cosmetic cues such as sweeping door scallops and rear haunch intakes, a wraparound carbon fiber undercarriage, and revised treatments for the canopy and rear fascia.

Since the time that Hiramatsu took delivery of his SP1, only one other Ferrari Special Project car has appeared, a 599 GTB Fiorano-based vehicle called the P540 Superfast Aperta that was first publicly presented at last January’s Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach. No word yet on when we can expect a third installment, but clearly these are extremely desirable cars whose long term-value and collectability will skyrocket given their rarity and provenance as official Ferrari-issued and sanctioned customizations.