The Ferrari 550 Maranello may not have been nearly
as ubiquitous as the Testarossa/512 TR/F512 M that came before, but with over
3,000 made (and another 2,000+ of the subsequent 575M), it's not exactly what
you'd characterize as “rare” in the grand scheme of things. Yet some examples
of the breed are more rare than others – like the one you see here.
Coming up for sale during Race Retro at Silverstone
is an uncommon special 550 called the World Speed Record edition. It was made
at the turn of the millennium to commemorate three records the Maranello set on
a 7.5-mile high-speed oval in Ohio, setting average speeds of 190.2, 188.9, and
184 miles per hour, respectively, over distances of 100 miles and 100 kilometers,
and over the course of one hour.
Ferrari made only 33 such WSR editions, representing
barely more than one percent of 550 Maranellos made or over 13 times rarer
than the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina that remains a hot commodity among
collectors.
Like any other 550, it packs a shrieking
5.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine, mated to an old-school, chrome-gated
six-speed manual transmission – with no fancy electronics to get in the way.
Presented in stunning Grigio over Bordeaux, this
particular example is one of just ten made in right-hand drive, and was sold
new to British mega-dealer Terry Lister. With just 33,800 miles on the
odometer, it's expected to fetch around £ 200,000 (US$ 250k) when it
reaches the auction block a month from now.
