Mere days after the one-off Ferrari 488 Spider “Green Jewel” fetched a whopping $1.3 million at RM Sotheby's Leggenda e Passione sale in Fiorano, Italy, Ferrari took to the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show to present its latest anniversary showpiece. Once again, it’s based on the 488 Spider, only this time, it’s rocking a blue body, a red interior, and a different nickname: Heartthrob.

The one-off supercar officially goes by the name Ferrari 488 Spider Heartthrob and was created to pay tribute to the 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider PF, one of only 14 open-top models designed and built by Pininfarina. Its place in Ferrari lore is cemented by the fact that its owner, Dominican racer and noted playboy Porfirio Rubirosa, drove it in just one international race, here it placed eighth overall and second in its class. That car sported a blue exterior and wore the number 235. Hardly a surprise then that the 488 Spider Heartthrob is wearing the same finish with the same number on its doors. It also gets a red leather interior, which is another nod to the classic Ferrari racer. Given the precedence of auctioning off these one-off 70th anniversary Ferraris, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see the Heartthrob get a price tag. Instead, it could follow in the “Green Jewel’s” footsteps and find its way into an auction setting sooner than later. If that one-off went for $1.3 million, care to guess how much the Heartthrob will go for? Safe to say that a seven-figure estimate may be a little conservative at this point.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

2017 Ferrari 488 Spider Heartthrob

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2017 Ferrari 488 Spider Heartthrob
  • Engine/Motor: V8
  • Horsepower: 660 @ 8000
  • Torque: 560 @ 3000
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

A proper tribute for a proper car

Like most of Ferrari’s 70th-anniversary one-off models, the Ferrari 488 Spider Heartthrob’s only difference from the standard 488 Spider is the livery it’s wearing. And like I said, the details of this one-off were all taken from the 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider PF once owned by Porifirio Rubirosa. Only three details really matter here – the blue body paint, the “235” number, and the red interior – and all of them are directly taken from a race car that has a unique history of its own. It would’ve been nice though if the “235” number was also placed on the hood, just like the race car.

It’s worth mentioning that the exact car that the 488 Spider Heartthrob was inspired from recently received its own restoration from Ferrari Classiche. The Italian automaker didn’t dive into the full details on the extent of the restoration, opting only to say that after the car retired from competition, it changed hands several times before finding its way to Tom Peck, the car’s current owner. Incidentally, it was Peck who sent the 500 Mondial Spider PF to Ferrari Classiche for a full restoration that included a new version of its original engine just so it complied with its construction specifications, making it eligible to receive a Certificate of Authenticity.

And for what it’s worth, Rubirosa’s reputation as a bonafide ladies man was the reason why the one-off 488 Spider earned the “Heartthrob” nickname. Word even has it that Rubirosa’s dalliances with women included a host of prominent celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake, Kim Novak, Eva Peron, and Zsa Zsa Gabor, who Ferrari claims posed with him in the 500 Mondial Spider PF. Must have been some kind of man.

What can we expect from this one-off?

The main purpose of the one-off 488 Spider’s existence is tied to Ferrari’s own celebration of its 70th anniversary. We’ve known about the automaker’s plan to roll out 70 different liveries as part of its celebration and this is one of them. We also know that the “Heartthrob” livery could also find its way into Ferrari’s other existing models. What we still don’t know is what Ferrari plans to do with the 488 Spider Heartthrob.

For now, it’s making hearts flutter in Frankfurt, but once the show ends, expect the 488 Spider Heartthrob to return to Ferrari’s headquarters until such time that it’s brought to an auction, much like what happened to the 488 Spider “Green Jewel,” which was one of the showcase pieces at RM Sotheby's Leggenda e Passione sale in Ferrari’s racing facility in Fiorano. That one-off sold for $1.3 million so it’s anybody’s guess how much the 488 Spider Heartthrob will sell for when it gets its turn going under the hammer.

References

Ferrari 488 Spider

Read our full review on the Ferrari 488 Spider.

1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider PF

Read more on the 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider PF.