Ferrari Daytona SP3: it costs 2.3 million

We have been to Florence to see the new super sports car, which reinterprets the philosophy of the Sport Prototypes that Ferrari made in the 60s.

Villa Cora is a mansion a few kilometers from the center of Florence in which luxury floats in every corner of the environment. From the first glance, they impose the care of their gardens, the height of their windows, the care with which the numerous service personnel who appear everywhere receive me. All in all, what impresses me the most are the two Ferrari SP Monza near the door, one single-seater and the other two-seater, predecessors of the Ferrari Daytona SP3 that I’ll get to know in a bit.

I am going to discover the car in the same place and in the same way that a selection of potential customers from all over the world is getting to know it: first, a few words to explain that, in summary, the new Ferrari does not pretend to be the largest technological showcase of its generation, but an exclusive reinterpretation of the Sports Prototypes of the 60s.

After that, they make sure that I don’t take photos with my mobile (they put stickers on the lenses) and they pass me to a space bathed in natural light in which sensual shapes rest under a cover with the Ferrari shield. There is a silence in which I could count the beats of my heart. It is almost a silence of religious respect. And then, two managers of the brand remove the cover … ‘Voilà’.

Inspiration from the past

The Daytona SP3 is a voluptuous temptation embodied in a sculpture 4,686mm long, 2,050mm wide, and only 1,142mm high. Very close I have Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari design chief, who gives me the best possible presentation of the car: “It is not about a vintage operation or a retro design, but about using inspirations that come from the Ferrari tradition but from a Very futuristic way, not nostalgic at all. “

Ferrari Daytona SP3

At first, I look at the other managers of the brand to verify that I can already approach this sculpture made of carbon fiber skin bathed in a shiny metallic red. It is pure muscle, almost the embodiment of eroticism on wheels. The interesting thing, according to Flavio, is that the design has no appendages, no strange ailerons, or active elements; It is pure, which does not mean that its aerodynamics have been worked precisely to produce 230 kg of weight on the rear axle when it rolls at 200 km / h.

In front, it has a wide air intake and behind the view is divided between the central exhausts, which stand out protected by carbon fiber with F1 technology that supports up to 350 degrees of temperature, and the design of louvers. Lamas, by the way, is reminiscent of the Testarossa from the 80s, but which Flavio admits to having reinterpreted models like the P5 from the 60s.

Ferrari Daytona SP3 Demanding cockpit

Its cockpit is very low, small and rounded, almost aeronautical. By activating a handle located very low, the door is raised in a scissor mode, showing its extreme lightness. They have already warned me that to sit down I will have to learn first on the bench and pass my legs last; It does not seem easy, but I am agile.

The seat, by the way, cannot be adjusted in any way. It is anchored as a fixed element to the structure of carbon fiber car, so to find the regulation in which I feel comfortable I first place the steering wheel in my size and then bring the pedal assembly to perfect distance, which I do by pulling a tape at the end of the sidewalk.

It is lined with blue Alcantara in this unit and when I think that it seems a bit wide, Emmanuele Carando, Marketing Director of the brand, intervenes: “Actually, this seat can be adapted to the taste of each client, both in terms of width Like the backrest inclination, but in this one, it is more inclined than normal and this gives a feeling closer to Formula 1.

Minimalism

The steering wheel incorporates physical and tactile controls that allow you to control 80% of the car’s infotainment functions, and behind the wheel, I discover a curved screen that is not complemented by any other in the center of the dashboard, otherwise minimalist.

The gear selector is switches implanted on a structure that simulates the grille of the old Ferrari manual gearboxes. But no, there will be no manual transmission as an alternative to the 7-speed automatic on this Daytona SP3 as much as that might be the ultimate vintage touch.

I can’t help but close my eyes for a moment: the seat is extremely hard, the steering wheel paddles have minimal travel and a touch of extreme precision … I’m digging the harness belt buckle into my back, which I haven’t fastened, but I don’t even move to avoid it; I’m overwhelmed by the sportsmanship overdose …

No luggage, please

Above my head, there is no roof, which is of the Targa type and at the moment it is retired. “Where do you keep it ?” He asked Emmanuele, which responds bluntly: “. If you get home and you rains descapotado have to put this one roof.” And then I get out of the car, open the front hood and it shows me a minimum space 100% occupied by a small bag. “Inside is a canvas roof. Nothing else fits.” So there is no space for luggage, which the service personnel will have to carry in another car …

The Daytona SP3’s engine is the same powertrain we’ve already tested in the 812 Competizione: a non-hybridized, non-turbocharged 6.5-liter V12 capable of roaring with thunderous notes when stretched to 9,500 rpm. An impeller with titanium connecting rods (40% lighter than steel ones) and an intake system redesigned for the occasion to improve the torque curve at any speed.

Ferrari Daytona SP3

Thus, the Daytona releases 840 hp at 9,250 rpm and 697 Nm of torque at 7,250 laps, allowing it to project from 0 to 100 in 2.85 s, reach 200 in 7.4 s and exceed 340 km / h. Simply awesome.

Reinterpretation instead of evolution

It is difficult with these figures to understand that those responsible do not host this Daytona SP3 in its category of ‘Supercars’. Especially when it has the same chassis as the Laferrari, which does deserve this rating. The reason for this lies in the fact that the Laferrari arrived in 2016 and represented a technological advance by incorporating elements from F1 (the Kers, for example), while in the Daytona there is no technological advance but a stylistic reinterpretation.

Chatting with Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari Design Director. Ferrari.

The car fits into what Ferrari has called the “Icona concept”, whose origin Manzoni explains to me: “We had a meeting with Sergio Marchione, our old boss, we started talking about cars from the past and from there the idea of interpreting a concept of a boat in a modern key. So I and my team began to do a search that was not meant to be nostalgic, and the result was the Monza SP1 and SP2 “.

Those cars of which there are currently two copies on the exterior of this luxurious Italian villa appeared in 2018, but it turns out that already then they began to think of an heir, as the chief designer acknowledges: “I like the evocative force and beauty they have models like the old P3, P4 or 350 Can-Am , and when I proposed it they fell in love with this idea. “

Ferrari Daytona SP3 Only 599 copies

An idea that will be reflected in 599 copies, 100 more than those that were built from the SP1 and SP2. As Enrico Galliera, vice president of marketing and sales, comments, “the cars are being offered to those who have already bought these SP1 and SP2, and the others will be 100 for customers in whose countries these two models could not be sold for homologation reasons.”

I was thinking of writing that, surely, they would last a short time for the sale once all guests passed by where I have passed and saw what I have seen, but as I write these lines they have just confirmed that there are no longer any available. 2,300,000 euros (with Spanish taxes included) and they have sold them like donuts.

Elenor Kling

A tech lover and generally a car enthusiast who likes to do a lot of research and share knowledge.

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