"Ferrari's special-projects division takes the top off the 599 coupe.
Sep 2010
By JUSTIN BERKOWITZ
Multiple Photographers
Destined for “Set as Desktop Background” clicks around the world, pictures of Ferrari’s new 599-based roadster, called the SA Aperta, have been released. The car is set to debut at the Paris auto show. Ferrari says that the SA Aperta was built to celebrate the 80th birthday of the company's long-time partner, the design firm Pininfarina. We suspect it's also been developed because Ferrari flat-out said in the past that it wanted to sell a convertible version of the 599.
Although the name “SA Aperta” doesn't live up to the promise made by Ferrari capo Luca di Montezemolo that the 599 roadster would be called something “emotional” and “romantic,” it is a nice tribute: SA refers to Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina, patriarchs of the family business. Aperta is simply Italian for “open.” (At least it’s not called the SA Aptera; how embarrassing would it be to have your molto-expensive Ferrari mistaken for a rolling tadpole?)
To transition the 599 from coupe to roadster, Ferrari has fit a shortened windshield and integrated rollover protection into what the firm calls “aerodynamic fins” that extend behind the headrests. Ferrari claims that the SA Aperta won't suffer any of the typical negative side effects of rooflessness; the chassis structure was redesigned to offer stiffness “comparable to that of a closed berlinetta” and weight gain is said to be nominal. Part of the reason is that rather than a folding hardtop, a flip-back roof like the 575-based Superamerica’s, or a simple cloth top, the SA Aperta has an emergency, rainstorm-only roof, similar in concept to the Porsche Boxster Spyder’s.
Under the hood, Ferrari has installed a 661-hp V-12; this matches the599GTO’s V-12 and trumps that of the base, 612-hp 599GTB, although Ferrari is waiting until the show to confirm that it is indeed identical to the GTO’s. We also are left to assume that the SA Aperta's transmission will be the same six-speed automated manual found in the 599GTO. Just for reference, the 599GTO has a claimed top speed of 208 mph and we figure that it could run to 60 in 3.1 seconds. The upshot: Not only should the SA Aperta be brutally quick, it may also provide a 200-mph open-topped experience. That would put the Aperta in a very exclusive club.
On the topic of exclusivity, Ferrari says it will build 80 SA Apertas, but those are all spoken for; the car was shown to a private crowd of brand loyalists at Pebble Beach in August, all of whom presumably dropped to their knees and thrust signed checks at Sig. di Montezemolo. Don’t panic if you want one, though. Since the SA Aperta is being built by Ferrari’s special-projects division, we'd wager that the Scuderia will construct additional SA Apertas for the right customers. Specifically, that means those customers already in with the company who can afford the expected $400,000 price. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/ferrari-599-news-2011-ferrari-sa-aperta-revealed
