Luxury carmaker calls new Monza models the ‘closest driving experience to F1’
Ferrari is banking on selling more limited-edition cars to boost profits.
Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP
Ferrari has announced a new open-top supercar it describes as “probably the closest and purest driving experience to Formula 1” – and has already pre-sold the whole production run, despite a likely £1m-plus price tag.
At a private event for devoted customers at its headquarters in Maranello, Italy, the company said it would produce less than 500 of the 810hp Monza models, which can reach 62mph in 2.9 seconds.
Nicolo Boari, Ferrari’s head of product marketing, said the Monza would be “the most powerful ever in Ferrari history”, with an 810 horsepower engine. He added that the open-cockpit would make the cars “probably the closest and purest driving experience to the Formula 1”.
The cars, which will come in one-seat or two-seat versions, are part of the new chief executive’s plans to boost profits by selling more limited-edition supercars.
Louis Camilleri, who took over as Ferrari chief executive from Sergio Marchionne, who died in July, said all of the Monzas had already been pre-sold to customers who attended the preview party on Monday night.
Zero2Turbo.com
(@Zero2Turbo)At a private event dedicated to Ferrari customers, the automaker unveiled two unique vehicles – the Ferrari Monza SP1 and Monza SP2. One is a single-seat creation – SP1 – while the other seats two – the SP2.#Ferrari #MonzaSP1 #MonzaSP2 #FerrariMonza #SP1 #SP2 pic.twitter.com/q2MzcHtMsm
The company declined to comment on how much the cars are likely to cost, but experts said they are likely to sell for more than £1m each. Ferrari’s limited-edition LaFerrari Aperta convertible model costs $2.1m (£1.6m).
The latest models are first in a limited series called Icona, which reference Ferrari’s racing cars of the 1950s.
Camilleri also revealed plans for its first sports utility vehicles (SUVs), following in the footsteps of luxury competitors such as Lamborghini and Aston Martin. Ferrari aims to double annual profits to €2bn by 2022.