► Ferrari redesigns 458 Speciale
► Built to brief from individual customer
► Unique bodywork, cooling tweaks
This is the Ferrari 458 MM Speciale, a one-off reworking of the sublime 458 Speciale built to a brief from an individual British customer.
It’s been created by Ferrari’s Special Projects division, the department that addresses the needs of clients who find a regular Ferrari just a little bit too ordinary.
That rather fetching new bodywork is aluminium, with carbonfibre panels for the nose and tail. The distinctive new side air scoop shape is there for a reason too, directing more air into the engine bay to compensate for the different surfaces at the rear, which sports a more pronounced rake to the rear spoiler, jutting over tail-lights borrowed from the new 488.
The underlying structure and powertrain are unchanged from the original 458 Speciale, including that naturally aspirated 597bhp 4.5-litre V8. There are some detail changes under the new skin; for instance, the front radiators have been tilted upwards and mounted more closely together than on the regular 458.
Ferrari says part of the client’s brief was a ‘visor effect’ for the windscreen and side windows, hence the black-painted A-pillar for a wraparound look.
The photographs in the gallery above were taken at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, from the MM’s first shake down with its lucky new owner and Ferrari test driver Dario Benuzzi.
Ferrari hasn’t officially announced what the ‘MM’ stands for; Mille Miglia? Marshmallows? Multi-millionaire is probably most appropriate. While Ferrari doesn’t disclose prices for individual clients’ projects, this very special Speciale won’t have been cheap.
Watch the Ferrari 458 Speciale take on the Porsche 991 GT3 in CAR’s video test here
