What's all this about?

This is the Ferrari SP51, a one-off created for a wealthy customer in Taiwan. As the ‘SP’ name suggests, it’s built by Ferrari’s Special Projects division which specialises both in one-offs such as the SP51 and very limited-production-run cars like the SP1 and SP2 Monza of which fewer than 500 were built at a price somewhere around the million and a half mark.

Looks like an 812 GTS to me...

That’s exactly what it’s based on. It gets the same engine, same underpinnings and, for the most part, the same body, but, whereas the 812 GTS had a folding hard-top roof, the SP51 is a pure roadster — that’s to say it has no roof at all; even when it rains.

What has Ferrari done to it?

In getting rid of the roof, engineers were left with a pair of flying buttresses behind the open cockpit. They softened the shape of the buttresses a little bit with a carbon-fibre air scoop, but more noticeably there’s now a wing running between the two buttresses, hiding the roll-over hoop and giving the SP51 a slight 911 Targa look. A lot of aerodynamic and wind tunnel work, Ferrari said, went into making the roofless cockpit as refined at speed as possible.

And what about the other changes?

Up front, there are new headlights and new front air intakes and behind the front wheels there are carbon-fibre vents to release turbulent air and heat from the brakes. Speaking of wheels, these are bespoke (no pun intended) to the SP51 and feature carbon-fibre wing profiles on each of the spokes and a diamond-cut rim edge. The rear sees the addition of a more aggressive spoiler reminiscent of the 812 Competizione models and, though it’s not especially noticeable, the rear lights are new too, though they’re still circular like those on the original 812. Down below, the rear diffuser has seen some tweaking as well.

Love the colour...

It’s called Rosso Passionale and it’s a gorgeous deep red made specially for the SP51, with the white and blue racing stripe echoing Ferrari racing cars of old. The colour scheme is even repeated inside.

How so?

The Alcantara in which most of the cabin is finished is also in that Rosso Passionale colour. The blue and white of the racing stripe is seen on the central tunnel, the fascia between the two seats and in the stitching of the steering wheel. Glossy carbon-fibre trims also adorn the interior.

What else do we know?

Not a lot, actually. The owner is said to be a prodigious and long-standing customer and collector of Ferraris and, given the nature of Special Projects one-offs, they likely had a considerable degree of input into the design process. Nothing specific is known about the SP51’s performance figures, but, given that it retains the 6.5-litre normally aspirated V12 engine of the 812 GTS, expect something along the lines of 800hp and a sub-three-second 0-60mph time. As for the price paid, that hasn’t been disclosed, but, based on the common-as-muck SP1 and SP2 Monza and remembering that this is a one-off, at the very least it probably wasn’t on the near side of £2 million.

David Mullen - 29 Sep 2022