Ferrari celebrates 60 years in the US with F60America

FERRARI is celebrating 60 years of the prancing horse badge in North America with a strictly limited topless version of its F12 Berlinetta, dubbed the F60America.

The US-only hyper-car shares its underpinnings with the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, but for the ultra-exclusive model, Ferrari converted the two-seater, two-door into a convertible for the cabriolet-loving market.

Just 10 of the cars will be built but the approximate $US2.5m asking price has not put off the US tifosi, with all of the F60Americas already spoken for.

While it does have a roof, Ferrari says the F60America’s fabric top cannot be used when driving faster than 120km/h, making speeds near the top speed of 300km/h+ strictly a wind in the hair exercise.

In the absence of a roof, the F60America has a pair of leather-upholstered roll-over hoops backed by carbon-fibre buttresses that extend to the tail, which Ferrari says gives the vehicle a sense of movement.

Its power plant is the same 6.3-litre V12 found under the bonnet of the F12 Berlinetta and produces a whopping 544kW and 690Nm of torque allowing the F60America to hit 100km/h in 3.1 seconds and 200km/h in 8.1 seconds.

Its unusual asymmetric interior has a black bucket seat for the passenger and a red version for the driver who is surrounded by a bespoke gloss red cockpit, with stylised stars-and-stripes on the seat base and backrests.

The unconventional approach is a nod to Ferrari’s historic racing cars which had room for just one occupant but the materials used are anything but historic, with weight-saving composites gracing the door trims and dash.

On the outside, its metallic blue paintwork with white stripe is said to be reminiscent of the North American Racing Team livery, but there is no doubt which manufacturer is responsible for the F60America with prancing horses on the front wings, bonnet, grille rear panel and transmission tunnel.

The decision to build just 10 examples of the car is a return to Ferrari’s 1950s and 1960s tradition of offering built-to-order ultra-exclusive vehicles for its American customers, the most notable example being the 1967 topless version of Ferrari’s 275GTB called the 275 GTS4 NART Spider - Its production run was also limited to just 10.

The iconic Italian brand has a strong history and a loyal following of American owners, a relationship that was first recognised with the creation of the 1957 250 GT California Spyder, which was designed for export to convertible-centric US Ferrari fans.

Only the extraordinary LaFerrari V12 hybrid can top the F60America’s feisty performance using its combined petrol/electric 780kW/900Nm output to crack 100km/h in less than three seconds but priced at $US1.6m the performance bastion is significantly cheaper.

Ferrari has not announced plans for any Australian celebratory models so Aussie fans wanting something as potent as the F60America will have to settle for the $690,745 F12 Berlinetta.