The new Ferrari SP51 is an entirely roofless V12 one-off

The economy is on the slide, winter is fast approaching and BMW actually thinks the XM isn’t a hideous waste of time and metal. There are many reasons to be un-cheerful at the moment, friends, but here’s a ray of sunshine courtesy of Ferrari’s Special Projects skunkworks. Its latest one-off creation is this: the SP51.

Commissioned by one of Ferrari’s most loyal Taiwan-based collectors, the SP51 is the answer to the question ‘what if I wanted an 812 GTS, but with no folding roof whatsoever, and an entirely bespoke body?’ This is the result: a unique V12 roadster with a windscreen (unlike the SP1 and SP2 Monza) but shorn of the weight and complication of a motorised roof.

Underneath, the SP51 retains the 812’s 6.5-litre, 789bhp V12 and running gear, so it’s still a 200mph ear-shredding supercar. Ferrari says it subjected the bodywork to lots of computer testing to make sure it would have no more buffeting or drag than the regular 812.

Some details for you to drool over then: the livery is a nod to the 1955 Ferrari 410 S. The rear flying buttresses have a whiff of 599 GTB about them, and the bespoke wheels feature carbon fibre blades on their, um, spokes. Nice.

Inside, it’s redder than a Man Utd fan’s bedroom. There’s swathes of carbon fibre and more nods to that white-blue-white striping, in the stitching and the centre console.

Ferrari doesn’t quote a kerbweight or a 0-62mph time and certainly not a price, because that’s not really what the SP cars are about. They’re a way to let Ferrari’s most devoted customers indulge their ultimate Prancing Horse fantasies.

Wonder what they’ll do with the Purosangue?