Ferrari's Special Project creating one-offs for its best, wealthiest customers (Part-1)

Ferrari is often regarded as an exotic and rare car, but some people want to have a unique Ferrari and one-of-a-kind in the world. Initially Ferrari did not provide the body but only the chassis and engine. For the design and the body work submitted to another renowned coachbuilder such as Pininfarina, Bertone, Touring, Ghia, Boano etc. But this practice was finally stopped because it was inefficient and now, Ferrari only chose Pininfarina as its official partner.

Ferrari factory in Maranelo. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2Y2NbMg)

And in early 2006, when an American famous car collector Jim Glickenhaus approached Pininfarina to design his Ferrari Enzo as a tribute to the Ferrari 330 P4 racing car. Finally, Pininfarina and Glickenhaus managed to build Ferarri P4/5 and the car result got the thumbs up from the Ferrari boss at the time, Luca di Montezemolo..

Ferrari "Special Project 1" was the first Ferrari Special Project model which designed by an Italian design house Fioravanti for a Japanese businessman Juichiro Hiramatsu. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2OhIeL3)

Inspired by those car above and to satisfy their customer as well, the Italian prancing horse logoed premium car manufacturer decided to establish the Special Projects, a division of the company responsible for creating one-offs for its best, wealthiest customers..

It should be noted, not everyone can order a car through the Ferrari's Special Project division. Besides requiring a tons of money up to millions of dollars. Only the customers who are considered by Ferrari have a history directly related to their car products that can participate in these Special Project program.

Ferrari's Special Project creating one-offs for its best, wealthiest customers. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2M9DbK1)

And it is not clear how many car models have been made by the Ferrari's Special Project division to this day. And the following are some of them:

1. Ferrari SP1
The Ferrari's Special Project division was launched its first model called Ferrari SP1 in 2008 and the car designed by an Italian design house Fioravanti for a Japanese businessman named Juichiro Hiramatsu.
Ferrari SP1 was built based on Ferrari F430, there's nothing changed on its powertrain, just aesthetics.

2. Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta
The second model was Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta, was an open-topped car based on the 599 GTB Fiorano with styling from Pininfarina. It used lots of carbon to keep the weight down.

Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta launched in 2009, built based on the 599 GTB Fiorano F1 and is given the coachbuild treatment by Pininfarina. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2M9DbK1)

The car was launched in 2009 and made for one of Ferrari's special client in States named Edward Walson, son of John Walson, the inventor of cable TV. It's said the car was inspired by a Luigi Chinetti-owned 330 LM used in an obscure Fellini film in 1968.

3. Ferrari 612 GTS Pavesi
There's not a ton of information on this car out there, but it seems to be a 612 Scaglietti with removable roof panels and lots of carbon fiber.
The engine produces +20 hp of power and +12 Nm of torque if compared to the standard 612 (550 hp and 600 Nm). As far as we know, Pavesi is the name of an Italian go-kart company, hinting at the car's possible owner.

4. Ferrari  Superamerica 45
This open-topped 599 was commissioned by American Peter Kalikow to celebrate 45 years since he bought his first Ferrari. Kind of strange anniversary, but a good excuse for a custom car.

Ferrari Superamerica 45 made for New York collector and Ferrari enthusiast Peter Kalikow to celebrate 45 years since he first became a Ferrari client and launched in 2011. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2M9DbK1)

The design is bespoke, featuring a carbon-fibre rotating hard-top which incorporates a rear screen. The boot is entirely new to house the roof when open, and is now in carbon-fibre with a design optimised to reduce drag and increase rear downforce.

5. Ferrari SP12 EC 
Perhaps it is the most famous car to come from Ferrari Special Projects. It ordered by the world's famous musician Eric Clapton, built based on 458 Italia and introduced in 2012.

FerrariSP12 EC  made for the world's famous musician Eric Clapton in celebration of his legendary career and his long tenure as a Ferrari owner and launched in 2012. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/2M9DbK1)

Just for info, Eric Clapton had to pay nearly £3 million or around Rp.55 billion for his SP12 EC.

6. Ferrari SP30 Arya
Ferrari SP30 Arya built based on 599 GTB. Initially SP30 was ordered by a wealthy Indian born Dubai businessman named Cheerag Arya, and the car was completed in 2012.

On February 6, 2019, Ferrari SP30 was offered at the RM Sotheby’s auction in Paris. This car is a milestone as the first Special Project car sold through an auction event, unfortunately RM Sotheby’s did not release the estimated price of this car. (Continues to part two.) *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | MOTORWARD | ROAD AND TRACK | DRIVE TRIBE | COACHBUILD.COM]

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