Ferrari 575 SUPERAMERICA
Front up at Ferrari with a name like Leonardo Fioravanti and youre halfway there. Something tells me that a Fioravanti is going to get a bit more play than a Higginbotham or a Schweinsteiger within the hallowed halls of Maranello. This Leonardo has some serious form too, working with Pininfarina on classic Ferrari designs such as the Dino, the Daytona, the Boxer and the 308GTB, still reckoned by many to be the most beautiful Ferrari ever built. His latest work is something rather different, a 559-car limited-run version of the 575 with a roof that almost defies belief.
Theres always a danger in thinking youve seen it all before. Weve had folding and sliding soft tops and hard tops that concertina into place but tend to be too complex and heavy for a proper sports car. Fioravanti has approached this problem from a completely different angle, concentrating on offering an electrically operating hard top with the simplicity of a soft top. Its execution is just astonishing and, like all the best ideas, seems blindingly obvious when its put into operation.
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The top just flips into place, clamping itself secure in seconds. The downside is that you need to undergo a few prerequisites for the car to allow you to drop the roof. This isnt one of those operations that can be handled at 20mph.
"The name should furnish a clue as to this cars target market"
There is another downside, although it may not be such an overwhelming problem for owners of the car in its key target market, the sunnier states of the USA. It may not have escaped your attention that what is the interior side of the roof is exposed to the elements when its folded back and the concave shape makes a very effective rainwater catcher. Flip the roof up when its full of water and itll dump it into your lap. Even if it is dry, the airflow around the car deposits road grime onto the roof.
Flip it onto position and this is millimetres from your expensive coif. The rear pillars generate noise from wind turbulence and the seatbelts thrum harmonically in the wind but lets be honest despite its huge power output, this is a car that does its best work at walking pace. Manufactured in conjunction with glass specialists Saint Gobain, the roof has another trick in its arsenal. The glass panel is electrochromatic which means that a small current can transform it from virtually opaque to transparent.
The process isnt instantaneous, taking the best part of a minute to go from lightest to darkest setting, but it does a very good job of giving the Superamerica a snug, enclosed, coupe-like feel when its opaque and an airy open feel when fully transparent. Its also very handy for those days when the air conditioning struggles to counter the greenhouse effect and you dont want to contract malignant melanoma. The paddle change sequential gearbox is an option that most customers will doubtless go for. Two fixed position alloy paddles sit behind the steering wheel, left for down changes and right for upshifts.
Its about as good as such a system gets, which means lightning quick upshifts and peachy throttle-blipping downchanges, all marshalled by some clever software that prevents the driver from selecting a potentially inadvisable gear. Like the Cambiocorsa system fitted to the Maserati Coupe, youre occasionally treated to the smell of lightly flambéed clutch during low speed manoeuvring and inelegantly timed downshifts can castigate the driver with an embarrassing clonk. Theres also a similar choice of automatic, sport and winter modes. The Ferrari shift is even quicker than the Cambiocorsa system and the artificial automatic mode is smoother. The software that controls the clutch action is also that little bit more intelligent.
Of course, the excellent manual gearbox continues, but given that the F1 sequential box can swap cogs in a mere .22 of a second around half the time of a Ferrari test driver armed with a manual stick youd be hard pushed to replicate the F1s 4.0 second sprint from rest to 60mph with the manual car. Weight has crept up by 60kg over the equivalent 575M coupe but then power has increased by 25bhp (or five per cent) so performance is still otherworldly.
The rev counter is redlined at 7,500rpm and most of this additional power makes itself felt in the upper reaches of the rev band just before the soft limiter forces you to pull another cog. Unfortunately, this V12 engine has never been the most vocal powerplant. Those who want to hear a classic Ferrari wail in full surround sound should save a few bob and opt for an F430 Spider. The Superamerica is a fascinating showcase for new ideas but the basic underpinnings are just starting to show signs of age.
Perhaps its target audience will care not a jot about body control and steering response at the limit. Ferrari has never worn pragmatism nor financial expediency well but the Superamerica points to exciting times ahead.
Facts At A Glance
CAR: Ferrari 575 Superamerica
PRICE: £199,000 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 499g/km
PERFORMANCE: [F1] Max Speed 202mph / 0-60mph 4.0s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [F1] (urban) 8.2 / (extra urban) 19.8 / (combined) 13mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4550/1935/1277mm
