Touring Superleggera's upcoming V12 Veloce Aperta pairs a removable roof with an open-gate-shifted V12
5 hours ago
by Chris Chilton
- Touring teases roofless Ferrari 550 restomod with manual gearbox and removable roof panel.
- New Aperta appears targa-style unlike Ferrari’s fully convertible, limited edition 550 Barchetta.
- Ferrari offers the new 12Cilindri in Spider and coupe versions, but not with a manual gearbox.
Touring Superleggera’s gorgeous Ferrari 550-based V12 Veloce is already one of the prettiest restomods around. Now the Italian coachbuilder’s about to make it even more desirable by chopping the roof off. Or at least part of it.
The company has released a teaser for an upcoming V12 Veloce Aperta that’ll debut in June, Aperta being the name Ferrari often uses on its most exclusive open-top cars. A single darkened teaser image shows a reimagined 550 with a 911 Targa-style wraparound rear window, a B-pillar roll hoop, and a cockpit open to the elements.
Related: Ferrari’s V12 Supercar Has A Shady Little Window Problem In The US
That’s something Ferrari never offered in-period with the 550. The stock model was a coupe, and the factory also built the limited-run 550 Barchetta, which went full convertible and ditched most weather protection altogether. Great for sunny coastal drives, less on days where the weather could go either way. Touring Superleggera also debuted its own Barchetta last year (see photos below).
Touring Superleggera Barchetta
From the single teaser image, the setup looks great, though we imagine (but don’t know) the central roof panel will be a manually removable item. The 575 Superamerica, the open-top version of Ferrari’s later, facelifted 550, had a targa-type layout but a roof panel that rotated electrically to rest on the rear deck. Unfortunately, the thing was dog-ugly, not something you can level at the Touring car.
Best of all, Touring Superleggera hasn’t abandoned the thing enthusiasts care about most. Like the coupe, the aperta keeps the glorious open-gate six-speed manual shifter paired to a naturally aspirated V12, which will likely match the 503 hp (510 PS) output of the Veloce coupe.
Carbon Panels, Modern Brakes
Photos Touring Superleggera