FERRARI 550 Barchetta/575M Superamerica
Generations Timeline, Specs and Pictures
Not exactly a CC (Coupe Cabrio), but having an electrically removable glass roof, the Ferrari 575 M Superamerica shares its name with the famous Ferrari 400 and 410 Superamerica from Ferrari’s past.
The ingredients for a successful limited edition GT are all there: front mid-engine V12, rotating glass roof with electrochromic technology and the option of an F1-style paddle shift transmission. The glass roof, dubbed Revocromico has five electronically controlled tint levels.
Based on the 575 M Maranello coupe, the Superamerica has been built in only 559 units.
With the occasion of its 70th Anniversary, Ferrari and Pininfarina built a limited production of the 550 Maranello.
Each car was custom-built, individually numbered, and bore Sergio Pininfarina’s signature.
The 550 Barchetta was a roadster built for thrills and emotions. It was designed to be driven hard with the top down. With its top installed, it was recommended to drive the roadster with up to 110 kph (65 mph). There were only 448 vehicles produced.
The magicians from Pininfarina design studio closely worked with Ferrari since forever. The 550 was one good example of what they could put up together. The long, sleek, hood, with an air-intake in the middle, the smile-like grille in the apron, and the flush to the hood headlights were just the beginning. Viewed from the side, the raked windshield and the wide B-pillars were the only elements above the car’s beltline. The Barchetta weighted the same as a regular F550 coupe.
The interior of the two-seat roadster was customized for each unit. The sport-bucket seats with leather upholstery were chosen for most of the vehicles. Some were ordered with Alcantara. On the center console, the manual gear-stick was made of aluminum, with the specific Ferrari gate for gears. On the center stack and inside the instrument cluster, the designers installed carbon-fiber trims.
Under the hood, the F550 Maranello Barchetta used the same 5.5-liter V12 as the Ferrari 550 Maranello, It was paired exclusively with a 6-speed manual gearbox.