Stunning Ferrari SP38 Is A One-Off Reimagining Of The F40
A new Ferrari is always something special, but a new one-off Ferrari is even more noteworthy. Imagine our collective glee, therefore, at the sight of the Ferrari SP38, the latest example of the expert handiwork at the automaker's One-Off program.
Launched in 2007 as the Special Projects program – hence the "SP" prefix to the cars' name – it was a way for Ferrari's most prolific customers to get something legitimately unique in their garage. They'd need deep pockets, of course, but presuming their checks didn't bounce they'd be able to work directly with the factory and its engineers on something perfectly tuned to their specifications. That means new design, custom features, and more.
In the case of the Ferrari SP38, the unnamed buyer bankrolling the whole affair is described only as "one of Ferrari's most dedicated customers" with "a deep passion for racing." The SP38 takes the 488 GTB as its donor, with the chassis and running gear carried over into a car that's designed to be equally at home on the road as on the track.
So, while the twin-turbo, twin-intercooler engine is the same as the regular car, it's dressed in a whole new body. Inspiration has been taken from the classic F40, pushing the visual mass of the car to the rear wheels and giving the SP38 a distinctive wedge profile. New headlamps, designed to be as slim as possible, emphasize the tapering nose.
The daytime running lights have been repositioned, allowing the headlamps to be even thinner, while the bumper lip is reminiscent of the 308 GTB. Ferrari's design team has managed to hide the air scoop from the 488 GTB, too, by folding the sheet metal in on itself from the low beltline on the door, into the real wheel arch.
"The effect is dramatic," Ferrari says, "as it reinforces the importance of the rear volume while, at the same time, maintaining the air flow to the intercoolers at the base of the side window." Gone, meanwhile, is the glass cover for the engine at the rear, with a flip-up carbon fiber assembly in its place. That has dramatic slash-like shutlines, again a nod to the F40, with echoes of the three transversal cooling slats in the integrated rear spoiler.
The trailing edge of that spoiler flows into the rear wing, and then down to the diffuser at the bottom. Ferrari describes it as "a suggestive frame" which sounds suitably filthy given the performance on offer.
Inside, the automaker's Tailor Made team has created a fully redressed cabin, though so far there are no photos of that. We'll have to wait until it makes its first public appearance at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on May 26 for that. As for price, Ferrari isn't saying.
