Even among Ferraris, some are more rare than others.
Like this one that popped up at the Chantilly Arts & Elegance concours this
past weekend in northern France. Can't wrap your head around what you're
looking at? We couldn't at first either, but the rare beast seen here is the
Tornado, a one-of-a-kind creation from the unhinged mind
of Franco Sbarro.
The Tornado debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show,
based on a 1992 Ferrari 456 GT. It kept the 5.5-liter V12 but ditched the 2+2
body style in favor of a two-seat open cockpit.
Its front end looks to us more like a Panoz racing
prototype, but with a chopped-down, wrap-around windshield and other elements
thrown in ostensibly to pay tribute, as it were, to late-'50s roadsters – like
the one that won the Best of Show award in the post-war category.
The honor went to a 250 Testa Rossa that won the 24
Hours of Le Mans in 1958 at the hands of Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien. It
was one of 28 horses that pranced in for the fourth annual event at the Château
Chantilly in celebration of the marque's 70th anniversary.
Robson Walton and Peter Mullin's 1936 Bugatti
Atlantic (one of four Type 57s at the event) won the pre-war prize, while top
honors were shared by the Renault Trezor and Citroën CXperience concepts, which
beat out the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante, McLaren 720S, and the French
president's DS7 Crossback.
