1 Return of the king!
If you happen to be reading this anywhere near Enzo Ferrari's grave, may we suggest you clear the area, because he's about to spin up like one of Elon Musk's boring machines. According to highly reliable sources, who were in no way paid in pints of lager and pork scratchings, the final Ferrari to be signed off by Enzo himself could be immortalised/ spoiled forever in a limited run modernised tribute... and our digital artists have been beavering away imagining how a 2024 F40 could look.
Rumours suggest it'll follow the Monza SP1/SP2 (812 Superfast based windscreenless missile inspired by the 750 Monza and 166MM from the 1950s) and Daytona SP3 (very slatty tribute to sports prototypes from the 1960s, based on a LaFerrari with the electric bits yanked out) as the third member of Ferrari's short run, mega bucks Icona line.
"A programme designed to celebrate Ferrari history by reinterpreting the timeless styling of the marque's most iconic cars to radically modern effect, using the most innovative materials and technologies available today." Just don't call them retro, the 'R' word is banned in Maranello. Bit like 'SUV'.
Built in strictly limited numbers, snapped up before the public ever clapped eyes on them and sold for molto profitto to the platinum members of Ferrari's black book, the Monza and Daytona (499 units at £1.4m each, and 599 units at £1.7m each respectively) were veritable money printers. No need to question why an F40 resurrection is attractive, then, if a little risky for the purist backlash that will inevitably follow. Perhaps the Ferrari board was waiting to observe how the anger towards Lamborghini's reborn Countach and the reputational pasting it took from Gandini distancing himself from the project - settled before pushing the big green button.
This story is from the November 2024 edition of BBC Top Gear UK.
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This story is from the November 2024 edition of BBC Top Gear UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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