Maranello, 11 December, 2009
The first shake-down has been held at Fiorano of a very special one-off,
the P540 Superfast Aperta, built for an American client. The car, the second
in a new Special Projects programme created by Ferrari to meet requests
from the most discerning clients and collectors to create truly unique
models, is based on the 599 GTB Fiorano and was inspired by a
Carrozzeria Fantuzzi-designed Ferrari built specifically for the 1968 Fellini
film, Toby Dammit, itself inspired by one of the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
The P540 Superfast Aperta’s proud new owner, Edward Walson, son of
John Walson, the inventor of cable TV, approached Ferrari in 2008 to
produce a modern reinterpretation of the gold-coloured car in the film. “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.”
In accordance with the Special Project’s approach to producing such
individual one-offs, the P540 Superfast Aperta respects all existing
international safety and homologation requirements and is thus road legal.
The car was designed by Pininfarina and built in Maranello, and the client
was directly involved in each stage of its development. As the 599 GTB
Fiorano donor car is a coupé, considerable effort went into strengthening
the chassis by using finite element analysis in development and the
increase in weight was kept down to just 20 kg by employing carbon-fibre
extensively. From the initial sketches to the final, road-legal car took just 14
months.
As the client took delivery of the car at Fiorano his excitement was
understandable: “This is the most special Christmas present of my life.”
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
Curiosity
This special car’s colour was inspired by the film ”Toby Dammit”, one of
the three episodes of the film “Histoires Extraordinaires” made in 1968
based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe.
“Toby Dammit”, the third of the three episodes, directed by Federico Fellini,
with Terence Stamp Salvo Randone and Milena Vukotic, based on the story
“Never Bet The Devil Your Head”.
The other two episodes, ”Metzengerstein” and “William Wilson”, were
directed by Roger Vadim and Louis Malle.
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