Ferrari shocks everyone again and launches two open-top sports cars for the road as part of a new program called Icona. They are the Monza SP1 and SP2; they look like bonkers re-imagined ‘50s racers, and will be made in very limited quantities – all of which have been already sold.

Just as I was lamenting the other day about the disappearance of coachbuilding, Ferrari decides to get up and unveil a whole new line of cars under the Icona moniker. We know about Ferrari’s Special Projects program that builds one-off models, sometimes starting from a clean piece of paper, for Maranello’s most-trusted and respected buyers. The cars that will come through the Icona program won’t be one-offs, but you still won’t see more than 200 made of each. That’s, apparently, how many new Monzas they will build and, despite a $1,400,000 price tag, all have been sold. Indeed, it’s a cheap price to ask considering a one-off Ferrari – for which all slots have been reserved all the way until 2021 – starts at about $3,000,000.

With the occasion of Ferrari’s Capital Markets Day, the Italian automaker debuted the Icona program on the premises of its new Centro Stile facility in Maranello. The program, which is slated to run until 2022 for the very least, will see more cars built using the same recipe: design philosophy that harkens back to the old days in combination with the latest Ferrari underpinnings.

<

What makes the Ferrari Monza SP1 special

The hump-backed SP1 is dead near identical to the SP2. In fact, the only major difference is that the SP1 is a single-seater while the SP2 is kind enough to offer a passenger the ride of a life time – with the right driver behind the wheel. With that being said, the bodywork that covers the right side of the SP1 does look to have a couple of latches so it’s not inconceivable that it comes off, but you won’t find a seat there since there’s also no hump to protect a potential passenger in case you make a wrong turn and the trip turns goes suddenly very wrong.

You’ve got a long sweeping hood, which incorporates the wings and lifts up as a whole to reveal the engine, that ends with a massive air intake in the vein of the old Monza, last of which was built 62 years ago as part of the 625LM series. The front lip is sculpted for aerodynamic purposes only with two extra vents incorporated to the sides of the nose which narrows out to follow the shape of the air intake.

The headlights are minimalistic with a thin line of LED’s sitting at a slightly oblique angle. Looking at the car head-on you can’t help but notice the lack of a windshield. What Ferrari has come up with to not ruin the car’s line is devise a scoop just before the dashboard which sucks incoming air creating what the Italians call a “Virtual Windshield” that should protect the driver from an array of debris that usually find their way into your face when you drive a car without any forward-facing piece of glass to protect you.

The rounded rear is dominated by a line of LED’s that effectively follow the car’s line in a dashing attempt to make the classic, rounded taillights we often see on Ferraris obsolete. The quad exhaust reminds us probably the most important aspect of the Monza SP1 and SP2 that I’ve saved up until now: the base for these cars is the 812 Superfast, Ferrari’s fastest and most powerful front-engined car ever made. Inside the Monzas, however, that growling 6.5-liter V12 is even more powerful, going from 800 horsepower to 809 horsepower.

The SP1 has enough power to go from 0 to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, defying its 3,307 pounds dry weight. The top speed is unknown although somewhere over 190 mph should be a fair estimate. You’ll also get the same 530 pound-feet of torque as in your mundane 812 Superfast so you can get those rear wheels spinning if you really want to.

It’s also nice to point out that the livery in which the SP1 was presented looks back at another Ferrari of the past, one that’s much more famous and revered than the Monza: the 250 GTO.

Ferrari Monza SP1 Technical Specification

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast.

Read our full speculative review on the 2018 Ferrari 812 Aperta.

Read our full review of the 1962-1964 Ferarri 250 GTO}

Read our full review of the 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC}

Read our full review of the 2009 Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss}