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Ferrari SP-8: Bespoke topless roadster revealed


The Ferrari SP-8 is the automaker’s latest one-off creation, and was commissioned by a buyer in Taiwan.

The SP-8 is so-named because eight is a lucky number in Chinese, while also referencing the car’s V8 engine and the F8 chassis lurking underneath.

Compared to the F8, the SP-8 has a completely unique exterior with an eye-catching two-tone effect, where the rear half of the vehicle and centre section of the doors is finished silver paint, while the rest of the car features unpainted carbon-fibre.

The SP-8 is permanently topless as there’s no roof included, not even a hard-to-erect temporary fabric affair.

Up front there’s a thinner set of headlights, a new bonnet pressing with wider U-shaped vent, and a full width aluminium grille with vertical bars that’s made from a 3D-printed mould.

It’s at the rear where Ferrari says it made the most changes. Freed from the need to stow a folding hardtop out back, its designers were able to “radically restyle” this area.

The back end now includes side air intakes with separate ducts for the intercoolers and engine, and tail-lights pilfered from the Roma.

There are other call outs to Ferraris both past and present, with the exhaust referencing the 296 GTB, and directional five-spoke alloy wheels clearly inspired by the F40.

Inside, the dashboard is straight lift from the F8, and the cabin has unique trim and highlights throughout. The centre tunnel sports the biggest change, with the standard column of buttons for the transmission replaced by a series of switches designed to resemble an old-school Ferrari manual shift gate.

Behind the passenger cell is a 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8. Taken directly from the F8 donor vehicle, it makes 530kW at 7000rpm and 770Nm at 3250rpm.

It drives the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. No word from Ferrari about performance, but the F8 Tributo can complete the 0-100km/h run in 2.9 seconds.

According to Ferrari one-off cars, such as the SP-8, commissioned through its Special Projects department take about two years to complete.

The SP-8 is currently on display at the Mugello Circuit, about an hour’s drive from Florence, Italy. At the end of the month it will be moved Ferrari Museum in Maranello, where it will be on show until March 2024.

For more photos of the SP-8, click any image above.

MORE: Everything Ferrari F8

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