Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina (2002)

Ferrari unveiled in September 2000 a highly exclusive limited edition 550. The 550 Barchetta was to be built to celebrate Pininfarina's 70th Anniversary. Just 448 units were produced, up from the initially planned 444, to appease superstitions around the number 4 to the Japanese market. All were pre-sold to VIP Ferrari preferred clients. Apart from some supplementary bracing, the Barchetta's high tensile welded tubular steel chassis was much the same as the Berlinetta. Weight was practically unchanged too and meant performance would be on a par with the closed car, a 0-60 remaining at just 4.3 seconds.

It was the bodywork that inevitably saw the most radical alterations in the transition to Barchetta configuration, Pininfarina removing all evidence of the roofline and cutting the windscreen down by 100mm to give a roadster-like appearance. A muscular tail, flat deck and roll hoops behind each headrest further transformed the restrained Berlinetta into a racey extrovert. New five-spoke, riveted alloy Speedline wheels were used and soon after a very similar design became optional available on the Maranello.

Each example built received an individually numbered plaque out of 448 making this the last individually numbered, manual V12 Ferrari Barchetta. The final days of the ultimate recipe that had served Ferrari since its inception. On a RHD car, the plaque can be found on the lower dashboard on the right-hand side of the steering wheel.