Ferrari Builds One-Off Superamerica 45 Based on the 599, It Debuts at Villa d’Este

Here to put beauty and Ferrari droptop back in the same sentence, we present the Ferrari Superamerica 45, a one-off roadster based on the 599. Ferrari’s Special Projects division has specially fabricated the roadster for a wealthy client, Peter Kalikow, an American property mogul, and the Superamerica 45 will debut at this year’s Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy. Although it exposes occupants to the blue sky, the Superamerica is not a ragtop, and it doesn’t have a folding hardtop either—instead, the Superamerica has a rotating hardtop. A movable roof panel is mounted on hinge along its trailing edge, allowing it to rotate 180 degrees backwards until it lies on the rear deck. Ferrari’s last Superamerica-badged roadster, the 575M, utilized this innovative and simple roof design as well. (We should add, to Ferrari’s eternal pain, that a tiny front-wheel drive Renault, called the Wind, uses a similar system.) While the 575M’s roof used an electrochromatic glass panel, the Superamerica 45’s roof is carbon fiber.

To accommodate the roof, a carbon fiber decklid has been fashioned, with a slightly different shape than what comes on the standard 599s. Flanking the new rear deck are two “flying buttresses” that are flatter and lower than the 599GTO’s—and set wider on the body—making the 45’s roofline seem lower and sleeker. One touch we’re quite fond of is the chromed egg crate grille, an homage to classic Ferraris. The Superamerica 45's wing mirrors, A-pillars, and door handles are finished in brushed aluminum, nicely matching the machined-face five-spoke wheels with body-color inserts. The whole ensemble is set off by a bright blue paint job, with a darker blue hue covering the roof, rocker panels, rear diffuser, front spoiler, and the carbon-fiber interior trim. The blue was more than just a pretty color for Kalikow; he also owns a 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica in the same shade.

While we’d imagine the right number on a check would convince Ferrari’s Special Projects team to build another Superamerica 45, potential customers will probably be satisfied with the production 599 roadster, debuting at this August’s Pebble Beach show. That means two new open-top Ferraris will be introduced this summer. We can’t wait!

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BMW Introduces the 328 Hommage, Inspired by the Classic 328, at the Villa d’Este Show

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of its beau ideal 328 sports car, BMW is going full force. As if opening the archives and sending 12 historic examples to the Mille Miglia rally wasn’t enough, the company has created the 328 Hommage, a modern interpretation of the 328. Using the company’s recent Vision ConnectedDrive concept car as a starting point, the 328 Hommage features modern materials and lightweight design techniques. The original 328 weighed just 1720 pounds, and in its honor the Hommage uses lightweight materials almost obsessively; the structure, bodywork and most of the interior is rendered in exposed and unpainted carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. The only other visible materials are aluminum and leather in the interior. The concept is powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six engine, bolted to an automatic transmission.

The Hommage thus isn’t much of an aesthetic homage—it looks almost nothing like its tiny silver 1930s-vintage inspiration. In comparison with the original artifact, the 328 Hommage is low, angular, and downright mean looking. Mixing styling cues from BMW’s upcoming i8 (the front end), Z4 (the flanks), and the newest 6-series (the rear), the designers also threw in several details that hark back to the 328’s era.

There are leather straps woven into the bodywork behind the front wheels and on the hood near the base of the windshield, small windscreens in lieu of a formal windshield, and alloy wheels with circular holes and spinner hubcaps that recall the original 328’s steel wheels. One of the cooler details is the lighting; the headlights appear to sport black tape crossouts like so many vintage racers do, but in fact the “tape” really consists of blacked-out, criss-crossed indents that separate the lamp into four individual backlit-LED units.

The interior is equally sculpted, and supremely driver-oriented. The interior is separated into two separate pods—one for the driver and one for the “co-driver”— and everything that isn’t brown leather or aluminum is carbon fiber. The driver’s pod features a sweeping console and a windscreen that is larger than the co-driver’s, which actually makes the hood and its powerdome slightly asymmetrical. The only instruments are a tachometer and oil temperature, oil pressure, and water temperature gauges. In front of the co-driver are mounted two iPhones in aluminum cases that look like chronometer watches from the future. The functional and racy interior is rounded out by a kill switch for the vehicle electronics.

The concept is set to debut at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este next week, and we cannot think of a more sensational 75th birthday present.

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