by Wallace Wyss –
Say it aint’ so, Joe. I look at this picture of the latest one-off Ferrari, the SP3JC (sounds like the type number of an industrial drill) and damn if it doesn’t look like a Corvette.
Not even a new Corvette, just random bits from the late ‘60s (Mako Shark era) to the present one’s same general body shape.
Now I know the goal of Ferrari’a custom build shop is to give the customer what they want but hey, give me a break, if they want a Corvette, then they should buy a Corvette. Or maybe 30-40 of them considering how much this car probably set them back.
Back has weird Buick Cascada style taillamps
There’s a movement in the fender lower down. This change also flows into the doors that have less prominent creases that on the coupe. A pair of carbon fiber roll hoops now sit behind the seats, y’wonder do they have the strength to hold the car up if it’s upside down. A narrow wing connects them.
Side window treatment more imaginative than past Corvettes but profile similar to Corvette
The rear is where the SP3JC breaks with the TdF or the Corvette.
It brings back two taillights per side. The louvers are off putting. It seems like two car rear ends jammed together.
It’s two tone like the ‘50s but in an odd way which the people at Ferrari say shows the client’s “passion for Pop Art.” (Hey, it’s a good thing he didn’t go for Andy Warhol!) Colors are Azzurro Met (blue) for the nose and Bianco Italia (a shade of white with some shadows of silver) over the rest. Giallo Modena (yellow) is the color for the hood’s horizontal stripe, the number 3, and portions of the nacelles.
No interior picture but they say blue leather with white inserts was chosen.
It is based on the F12tdf’s 6.3-liter V12 with 769 horsepower (574 kilowatts) and 520 pound-feet (705 Newton-meters) mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The 0-60 mph time shames a 427 Cobra, with 0 to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) achieved in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 211 mph (340 km/h). I don’t even know if there is a roof actually. It took Ferrari only three years to build it, which in the car design world is forever.
By the way the client is a free lance writer named John Collins. Well, he must be very successful as free lance writing doesn’t may much unless you write for Vanity Fair.
I am hoping if the Corvette goes mid-engined that Ferrari’s one-offs will look less like Corvettes but then, egad, what if Corvette designers steal every design feature of mid-engine Ferraris?
Are the Corvette designers in Warren, MI complemented or not?
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss has authored 18 car histories. His art work on Ferraris is available for mail order Write mendoart7@gmail.com for a list.
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Freelance writer, yes. However, also the owner of Talacrest.
The Corvettes in the last pictures are better looking.
The ass end of the Ferrari is disturbing to say the least. For reasons I can’t explain it makes me feel anger. Looks like the mouth of a wierd sea creature.
I LIKE THE CAR ALRIGHT , AS A FERRARI. BUT THE COLORS DON’T ADD UP.
This is not the first Ferrari that has design cues that will remind you of a Corvette.
As a once devoted ferrarista I can, with all puns intended, say that Ferrari has truely jumped the shark.