You knew it was coming. Ferrari’s introduction of the 488 Pista Spider at Pebble Beach this August followed the coupe version introduced last March. It’s been Ferrari’s pattern to offer stripped-down track versions of its mid-engine V8 models since the 360 Challenge Stradale 15 years ago.
Ferrari has been reviving classic model names for many years, most recently with the 812 Superfast. That badge originated with the 500 Superfast, a big yet exquisitely sleek grand tourer built for the marque’s top customers from 1964-1966.
As if to soften the psychological blow of adding an SUV to the Prancing Horse stable, Ferrari revealed a surprise: the Monza. The Monza is first in a new series called “Icona,” for icon. These models are far more distinct from the vehicle on which they’re based than past Ferrari special editions have been.
This month, another GTO is likely to set the record for the most ever paid for a car at auction. RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale is offering a 1962 GTO, #3413, which is one of a few that were re-bodied by Scaglietti with the Series II/GTO 64 body. It is expected to bring $45-$60m.
Is it possible to choose one Ferrari that epitomized the marque in its classic era? Selecting a “top five” would be hard enough. Yet, when you consider that Ferrari road cars remained closely related to its GT racers for the first 15 years or so of the marque’s history, there is one that leaps forward: the 1959-1962 250 GT Berlinetta SWB.
David Lee had his 1972 Dino fully restored, at the same time giving it a 400-horsepower Ferrari V8 and a modernized chassis. But don’t call it a “resto-mod” or an “outlaw.” This is a re-invention to bring a classic model to its full potential.
Every vintage racecar has a story. Some of the more compelling ones are those intrinsically linked to a marque’s formative years. “The Admiral’s Ferrari,” a 1955 Series II Mondial, is one. This August, after 58 years in one owner’s hands, the car will go in search of a new steward at the Gooding & Company auction in Monterey.
Ferrari 458 Italia reset almost every measurement bar one could apply to a high-performance sports car. Editors at Motor Trend magazine wrote: “The 458 Italia surrounds you so completely with its talent, it almost feels an organic extension of your senses… This Ferrari turns mere mortals like you and me into driving gods.”
