Ferrari Monza SP's Powerful V12 Isn’t for Posers
Slideshow: Ferrari's madly powerful 6.5-liter V12 engine powers the Monza SP radical road racers.
How to do retro road racers, the right way
Trust Ferrari to channel its celebrated past, in the pursuit of achieving supercar perfection.
With a lineage that features more V12 classics than any other, Ferrari has once again set the standard with its SP1 and SP2 road cars. They look remarkably different from anything else you can buy, featuring open cockpits. In fact, the styling harks back to the great 1950 road racer aesthetic, which is exactly the intention.
Photos courtesy of Ferrari S.p.A.
A Tribute
The most powerful naturally aspirated road cars ever produced by Maranello pay homage to the company’s legendary 166 MM, 250 Testarossa, and 750 Monza. The choice is simple: do you want to share the experience with a passenger, or indulge in the acoustics delight of that amazing V12 all by yourself.
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SP2: an amazing supercar experience to share
For those who believe that Ferrari’s finest road car yet should be an experience to share, there is the SP2. The nomenclature is rather simple to fathom: it has two seats, separate by a structural brace which divides the cockpit.
You might think that an open cockpit would necessitate the awkwardness of having to wear a full-face helmet all the time, but you’d be wrong. Ferrari’s engineers and legendary aerodynamicists have cleverly configured a special virtual windshield.
This device gathers a stream of airflow through the nose of the car and pressurizes it, before ejecting that air just ahead of the driver. As such, it literally provides a virtual windshield to keep bugs and insects from becoming dangerous projectiles into the cabin.
Ferrari says the faster you go, the more efficient its virtual windshield functions.
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Driving environment of destiny
Accessing this most inviting supercar cabin is achieved through tiny scissor doors that open upwards. Ferrari designers found that full-size doors simply would not work with the carbon-fiber structure and the overall stiffness they wanted with the SP-series cars.
Ferrari will allow its SP1 and SP2 customers the option of a range of driving accessories, which makes the open-cockpit experience even more attractive. Specially tailored driving shoes, gloves, scarfs, jerseys, and full racing overalls can be ordered. The ultimate gentleman driver’s accompaniment for Ferrari SP-series supercar ownership.
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SP1: The selfish one
If you believe that the ultimate Ferrari driving experience is one best savored alone, the SP1 will be your selfish supercar solution.
It only has one seat and as such, it is 44 lbs lighter than the two-seater SP2. That difference might be merely academic, but the influence of its appearance is dramatic, making it look every bit like the reincarnated 1950s road racer.
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Uncompromising Performance
The performance on offer with these SP-series cars borders on the ridiculous. Both are powered by upgraded Ferrari 812 engines. The 6.5-liter V12 revs to nearly 9000rpm and produces 809hp along the way. With curb weights for these cars at 3306lb for SP1 and 3351lb for SP2, performance is staggering. Ferrari claims 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds.
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Exclusive and expensive
With the privilege of being one of the 499 lucky individuals to own one of these stupendous V12-powered Ferraris, will also come a difficult choice.
Firstly, there is the question of price. Both the SP1 and SP2 will retail for $1.75 million and Ferrari has committed to only building 499 of them. The 500th car is most likely destined for its own museum.
The second issue is choosing one or the other. Ferrari has said that it will not allow even its most loyal of customers the option to own both an SP1 and SP2. You will have to decide: one seat indulgence, or two-seat sharing of this beguiling V12-powered Ferrari experience.