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Advanced Coverage: 2011 Ferrari SA Aperta - 2010 Paris Auto Show Preview


Only 80 examples of the SA Aperta roadster will be built in honor of Italian design house Pininfarina’s 80th anniversary.

By Mike Monticello

Ferrari put out the word today that the star of its Paris Auto Show display will be a super-exclusive convertible called the SA Aperta. The “SA” in the car’s name stands for Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina, the Italian coachbuilders who have designed so many road-going Ferraris over the years, while “Aperta” means open in Italian. Only 80 examples will be built in honor of Pininfarina’s 80th anniversary, making it “the most exclusive Ferrari ever,” according to the folks in Maranello.

The SA Aperta is essentially a 599 GTO convertible (see “2011 Ferrari 599 GTO—Special Feature,” for driving impressions of the coupe), using that car’s high-revving 661-bhp V-12 as its power source, notably up from the standard 599 GTB Fiorano’s 611 bhp.

The SA Aperta is meant as a strictly top-down sports car, with a minimalist soft-top included for use only during weather emergencies. Besides the lack of a roof, other changes include a shortened windshield and two aerodynamic fins aft of the roll hoops. Ferrari says chassis bracing added a small amount of weight to the car, but the result is “a standard of stiffness comparable to that of a closed berlinetta,” while the ride height has been lowered compared to the standard 599 GTB.

Not surprisingly, all 80 of the SA Apertas have already been sold.

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