Ferrari today unveiled the new SA Aperta – the long-awaited Ferrari 599 roadster. It’s a limited edition and just 80 will be built globally, one for each of the years styling house Pininfarina’s been in business.
This explains the Ferrari SA Aperta name: the SA part of the badge honours Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina, whose company has a long history of designing the most beautiful Ferraris. Aperta means open in Italian, signifying the baked bean tin opener has been deployed in Modena.
Ferrari SA Aperta in detail
The Ferrari SA Aperta will be unveiled formally at the 2010 Paris motor show on 30 September, where the full spec will be announced. We know the 599’s regular V12 will be carried over – and now there’s no roof, all 661bhp should be extremely audible.
There is a temporary soft-top roof ‘to be resorted to only if the weather gets particularly bad,’ says Ferrari. That speaks volumes about the likely hot climates where the SA Aperta will end up.
What else is different from the basic Ferrari 599?
The SA Aperta has a lower ride height, while two roll bars are integrated into the rear deck to provide protection in the untimely event of a rollover. Those safety hoops are designed to mimic the shape of the seats, say the men from Maranello, and they flow down into stately flying buttresses.
Ferrari claims the chassis is as stiff as the berlinetta’s and says the weight penalty is ‘negligible’. No hard figures available yet to back this up.
Price is put at ‘more than €400,000’. So the most expensive Ferrari currently on sale then.
>> CAR will be driving the Ferrari SA Aperta this autumn. Stay tuned for our first review