► Another one-off Ferrari
► Based on the F8 Spider
► Uses the same 3.9-litre V8 twin-turbo
This is the Ferrari SP-8, the latest one-off production from Maranello’s bespoke Special Projects programme. Designed by the Flavio Manzoni-headed Ferrari Styling Centre, it’s an open-topped two-seater an uses a F8 Spider as a base – but then takes things a more extreme, distinct route. It was commissioned by one of Ferrari’s current based in Taiwan, but it’ll get a physical debut at Ferrari’s Finali Mondiali 2023 event later this week.
The tech specs
The SP-8 uses the chassis, engine and other gubbins of the F8 Spider – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As a result, the SP-8 is powered by Maranello’s awarding-winning 3.9-litre V8 twin-turbo.
Design
Most of the time here has been spent on the SP-8’s bespoke design. Although the SP-8 sits on an F8 chassis, it looks very different. Ferrari says the ethos of the new car ‘centres around the way in which its volumes crossover and fuse into one another.’ Look at the sketch below, and you’ll see Maranello originally envisaged an extremely futuristic vehicle. Just look at that wraparound windscreen! Still, the essence of those designs is carried over into the finished car.
To that end, the entire SP-8 is two-tone; with the front of the car finished in unpainted carbonfibre and the rear painted in silver. Ferrari’s designers have used the two-tone effect to make the rear of the car almost emerge out of the front, creating a dynamic but also classic look. CFD tools have also been employed to ensure the SF-8 doesn’t just look good – but cuts through the air as efficiently as the F8 Spider on which it’s based.
The front of the car – while similar to the F8 – is also completely different to the standard car, with Ferrari engineers using a 3D-printed cast to create its unique shape.
Anything else?
Unique five-spoke rims complete the look, but not everything on the SP-8 is a one-off: the rear lights are taken from the Roma but different lenses, while the windscreen and the tailpipes have the same treatment as the 296 GTB.