And the band plays on….
by Wallace Wyss –
The announcement by Ferrari that they were introducing a new model that will be V12 powered, cruise at 200 mph and cost $2,025,000 came as a surprise in that I thought all the automakers were dropping work on new ICE cars to make electrics.
Well, Ferrari already has two hybrids, so they have that base partially covered, though not as well as Porsche who has the all electric Taycan selling like gangbusters.
The way I look at it, Ferrari sees some limited edition internal combustion cars as maybe their entries in the final stretch of the gasoline fueled era. They know they have not only fans for their brand but super fans who will pay not only full list price or maybe more if a car is a limited edition and sold to any just any Tom, Dick and Harry not walks in off the pavement, y’see.
And this case, the Ferrari Daytona SP3 Icona is just one of those cars. When it has the initials SP that means Special Project and the customer list is scrutinized to weed out the unworthy. Like what else do they have in their garage? Oh, a Speciale or some kind? Pebble Beach entree? Race car? They really look at SP customers as brand ambassadors.
Now isn’t this taking money away from an electric? I think the profit on these Daytona SP3’s will be so much that just selling say a batch of ten will pay for maybe $15 million in electric car development. Maybe they are taking an SP test mule apart as we speak to see how much can be used in an all electric alternative.
Most of the other car companies don’t have this kind of magic well they can fish in to fund cost-is-no-object projects. Rolls and Mercedes are working on that as well, but I don’t know if they have as many qualifying hurdles to jump over.
Art by Wallace Wyss
Whether building these ultimate cars is a wise course of action depends on where the anti-ICE car legislation goes. Which direction it goes will determine if these save-the-best-for-last cars appreciate. If they still allow you to register and drive them past the year 2030 (the date most automakers have said they will cease production of ICE cars) then these last few ultra luxury cars with powerful ICE engines will be collector’s items, to be ogled when they are the last dinosaurs on the road.
Art by Wallace Wyss
So while I think every automaker needs to have a full electric under development, I think Ferrari, and other exotic makers who want to run right to the wire, ought to be able to build their ultimate vehicles as long as they conform to the laws.
Sad to think the siren song of the V12 will seldom be heard after 2030…
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss is the author of 18 auto history books and a regular commentator on Autotalk broadcast weekly by KUCR-FM Riverside, California.
Photos compliments of Ferrari.
The swirls, bulges, carve-outs and fancy integrated rear strakes just seem to be about people either running out of ideas or trying too hard. This car may be an Icona but it can’t hold a candle to the simplicity, refinement, and elegance of the purposeful, yet quietly beautiful 250 LM….just my humble opinion.
As for the thrill of the sound, well, maybe they can build in a simulation of a 3.3 liter V12.
Absolutely Correct with your assessment!!
I couldn’t agree more with David Meisner about the quiet beauty of the 250 LM, or the raw magnetic attraction of a 330 P3/P4. However, I have written here before, you can’t “simulate” the experience of the Ferrari V-12. Turning the key, waiting for the fuel pumps, pressing the start button, listening to the start up roar, watching the tachometer, warming the fluids before take off, it’s a ritual and experience that no electric car will ever provide. To me, it’s like making love to a super model who can’t talk or make any sounds! I like to know I am hitting my shift points!