As far as we know, Ferrari is not involved in making spaceships just yet, however, if you have your hands on them big bucks, then maybe you’re one of the excessively fortunate 599 clients who will be purchasing a Ferrari built like one. This machine can be accurately described by using phrases such as a theatre on wheels, a work of art, or a horizontal rocket, but, in all honesty, it’s a car that makes children and adults squeak in excitement, a car that commands phones and cameras to start recording, one that puts on a show every time its 6.5-litre V-12 is revved to its 9500-rpm redline, this ladies and gentleman, is the Ferrari Daytona SP3.
Bygone Days
Every show is incomplete without a blast from the past.
With looks that date back to those late-’60s race cars, The Ferrari Daytona SP3 is based on one of the most spectacular feats in Ferrari sporting history, when it famously took the top 3 places at the 24-hours of Daytona on the 6th of February 1967.
Connect the name yet?
This car pays tribute to the pinnacle of Ferrari’s engineering by reinterpreting the styling of one of Chief Engineer Marque’s most iconic cars. The Daytona SP3, is a celebration of the Italian brand’s V12 that we’ll miss so much when it’s gone.
The Blueprint
This car is the latest in Ferrari’s Icona Series, reserved for ultra-limited-production cars inspired by standout moments in the brand’s history. It’s a merger of retro ’60s design with modern vehicle shapes which result in wheel arches which are bulged, fender-placed side mirrors, a three-piece wraparound windshield, and the striking horizontal bars crossing the rear tail. The new Daytona looks likes a racecar from the 2070s, with modernity in every aspect preserving the retro design.
The SP3 features carbon-fibre bodywork but there are no large wings or active aerodynamic pieces on the body. Its body is basically the 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari’s and its roofless Aperta variants body on steroids (or let’s say a good protein-filled diet) while sharing similar measurements for wheelbase and length. The SP3 is slightly taller due to its larger-diameter wheels (20-inch front and 21-inch rear), and it’s significantly wider than a Ford F-150 at 80.7 inches. Despite the increased size, Ferrari says the SP3 is lighter than the LaFerrari, with a claimed dry weight of 3274 pounds.
While stealing eyeballs may seem like the goal of the exterior, Ferrari designers explain a different desire: to produce the same aerodynamic performance as modern supercars, but without wings or active elements. The only active bits on the exterior are the headlight covers that move up and down depending on the light setting.
Access to the cabin is via butterfly doors, and these lead to a pinched middle that then expands to form powerful rear wings that wrap the rear wheels and give the car a real muscular and dynamic look. There’s no missing the horizontal blades at the rear, these were added to help reduce the volume of the rear while adding a futuristic touch altogether.
La Prestazione
The SP3 has a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and the steering is hydraulically assisted. This beast packs a naturally-aspirated 6.5 Liter V-12 which produces no less than 829 HP. That makes this V-12 the most powerful in Ferrari history, but, there is yet another thing that is set to impress you a teeny bit more than the last one, the sound, a glorious shrieking wail in its upper register, you can feel its inertia even under light engine braking and see its heat waves through the rearview camera. The V-12’s sound and vibration are ever-present.
The engineering on the Ferrari Daytona SP3 draws on the ergonomics expertise Maranello has developed in Formula 1. The fact that the seats are integrated into the chassis means that the driving position is lower and more reclined, in fact, the position is very similar to that of a single seater. This helps reduce weight and keep the car’s height to the required extent. The adjustable pedal box means that each driver can find the most comfortable position. The mid-rare architecture and composite chassis also optimized weight distribution, concentrating the masses around the centre of gravity, these choices combined with the work done on the engine give the Ferrari Daytona SP 3 record-breaking weight-to-power ratio, 0 – 100 kilometres per hour and 0 – 200 kilometres per hour acceleration figures.
Stats For Nerds
Price – AED 607,500
Engine – Its Engine is a DOHC 48-valve V-12, with aluminium blocks and heads and direct fuel injection
Displacement – 396 in3, 6496 cm3
Torque – 696.89 NM @ 7250 rpm
Wheelbase – 104.4 in
Length – 184.5 in
60 mph – 2.6 sec
100 mph – 5.4 sec
Top Speed – 211 mph
Fuel Economy – 14/12/16 mpg
The Insides
Ferrari uses an exclusive range of leather called Ferrari Nappa in the cabin of most of its cars.
The interior of the Daytona is a fresh new design for Ferrari. The minimalistic dash is dominated by a 16-inch curved display. This is covered by a wraparound windshield that gives the effect of a jet fighter’s cockpit. Roughly 80% of the Daytona SP3’s functions can be controlled without the driver taking his or her hands off the wheel, which means that the numerous features that the car has to offer are all within the driver’s reach at the steering wheel.
Now, as we know, the SP3 is a Targa. This means that it has a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full-width roll bar behind the seats. There’s a removable top, with complex aerodynamics used to keep things calm in the cabin during open-air driving. A Nolder is integrated into the top of the windscreen to direct airflow up and above the cabin. This car also has air passages behind the headrests to help channel air coming from the sides into the cabin. It’s as aerodynamic as they come, that’s for sure.
Our Verdict
We find the SP3 to be guilty. Guilty on charges of having astonishingly futuristic looks and speed, powered by an absolute beast of an engine that would make even the craziest of adrenaline junkies submit.
The Daytona SP3 interprets a moment of Ferrari’s motorsports past through a modern lens, drawing crowds and cameras even when parked. The SP3 will be one of the last mid-engine and naturally aspirated V-12 supercars Ferrari makes—they won’t confirm how many are left, but we believe it’s a short list. It’s a type of vehicle that exists in fewer and fewer numbers every year, one that reminds you that you’re operating a mean machine that won’t be there for long. We should enjoy such cars while we can, the thrill of the V-12s won’t be there forever.
