Back in the day, when Enzo Ferrari was at the helm of the company bearing his own name, no more than a few hundred cars left Maranello each year. In 2018, Ferrari sold 9,251 cars, over 2,500 of those reaching American homes. It is, then, no wonder that the ultra-rich no longer want the 'average' Ferrari and look for something special, something doused in the uniqueness of vintage Ferraris. Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera heeded the trend and, in 2015, built five Berlinetta Lussos based on F12 Berlinetta underpinnings. It looks incredible while losing none of the on-road prowess of a standard F12.

Ferrari's F12 Berlinetta is bound to become a future classic as one of the last front-engined, V-12 monsters from Ferrari. Sure, its replacement, the 812 Superfast, gets all the acclaim nowadays but we're sure collectors will find the F12 with all of its 730 horsepower from that awe-inspiring 6.3-liter V-12 an interesting collector's item in the decades to come. Remember, no one wanted the 250 GTO when it was only a few years old either. So, you can imagine this re-bodied version, that looks at least as good if not better, commands a hefty price. Sadly, dealer O'Kane Lavers will only tell you the number if it thinks you're serious enough about buying the car.

2017 Ferrari Berlinetta Lusso Touring Superleggera

It was actually inspired by the much older 166 MM introduced in 1949 to tackle the fabled Mille Miglia.} Carrozzeria Touring Head of Design Louis de Fabribeckers said "there’s no need to conceal or over-design," over at Touring. "Nowadays, we concentrate our energy into the most significant activity: the validation of volumes and proportions. We keep applying the original Touring design philosophy: the volume defines us and shows us our path."

The nose is different, with a protruding grille and enlarged inlets in the lower part of the splitter. The hood, too, is new with redesigned vents, matching the shape of the chiseled rocker panels and skirts. The side skirts, front bumper, and splitter are all made of carbon fiber. Meanwhile, the hood, trunk lid, splitter, and rear apron are made of hand-beaten aluminum laid on a carbon-fiber structure (in the case of the hood, splitter, and rear lid).

Carrozzeria Touring didn't touch the underpinnings of the F12 Berlinetta, although it did manage to shed some weight off the original F12 chassis, which has 12 different types of alloy, whilst increasing the torsional stiffness by 20%.

The shape of the grille also influences the generous inlets that pierce through the lower bumper area, divided by a central inlet. The elongated headlights are the same as before but you wouldn't be able to tell given how different the front section looks, together with the hood that now features two humps down the middle with side-facing air vents.

From the side, the car looks just stunning. The caved-in profile of the doors is gone. Instead, there's a major ridge starting from the tip of the front wheel wells that extends all the way towards the rear quarter panel, underlining in its path the curvature of the front flares while also working in tandem with the caved-in rocker panels that feature an air inlet immediately aft of the front wheels. On the standard F12, the grooved skirt separates itself from the door via black contouring.

The sporty allure of the F12 has been toned down a notch or two as Touring decided to do without the rear spoiler that's part of the rear lid. As a result, you get a much smoother tail although there is a small lip directly above the rear center panel, like a frame for the two round taillights positioned on either side. A stock F12's rear is dominated by the lines that direct the eyes down towards the diffuser, thus creating the appearance of a funnel from the rear center panel down. The Touring version, on the other hand, is cleaner, relying on full volumes and shapes and not a myriad of surfaces.

Overall, the simplicity of the F12 as interpreted by Carrozzeria Touring exudes elegance the way a standard F12 will never be able to do. That's because the Touring version took a page or two from the 612 Scaglietti's and the 550 Maranello's book of style by going in with a 'less is more' mindset that has totally worked.

Carrozzeria Touring's employees don't pretend to be master engineers nor legendary upholsters and, as such, you get all the instruments of an F12 in the places you'd expect to find them. However, the brown and beige leather interior with matching “Terra de Siena” stitching is unique to this car and Touring sourced an improved sound system from Focal/Naim. Also unique is the body color, Grigio Mistico, created at the owner's request. The five-spoke wheels feature the classic twin-spoke star style but are actually the work of HRE Wheels specifically for the F12 Lusso. As the Milanese coach building company puts it, "at Touring, there is no such thing as an option list. Our customer’s individual taste shall guide our path."

As mentioned, the drivetrain is all the same. Power comes from the wonderful 6.3-liter F140 FC V-12 engine good for 730 horsepower at 8,250 rpm and 509 pound-feet of torque at 6,000 rpm. At the time of its release in 2012, the F12 was the most powerful Ferrari ever made.

With a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with flappy paddles and a dry weight of under 3,950 pounds, the F12 Lusso should reach 60 mph in about 2.8 seconds (the standard F12 needs 3.1 seconds to get to 62 mph) on its way to a top speed of 211 mph. 0-124 mph takes just 8.4 seconds in this car. With carbon-ceramic disc brakes, the SCM-E magnetorheological suspension with adaptive dampers, and an electronic LSD, the F12 Lusso is undoubtedly a serious supercar but we're dead certain its next owner would much rather have it sitting in a garage rather than thrash during a track day.

2017 Ferrari Berlinetta Lusso Touring Superleggera specifications

We don't have to mention how sad that is but, with this being the second of just five examples assembled, it may be the right thing to do. After all, it may trade hands the next time for many, many millions (not that it's not worth at least $1 million as it is). That's a hefty premium over a bone-stock F12 as one of those can be had for about $220,000 if you don't go for ultra-low-mileage $300,000+ examples but, hey, Ferrari made at least 1,000 F12s and only five have been transformed to Berlinetta Lusso spec. This is, at the end of the day, our only gripe - the world needs more of these around for people to gaze upon and childishly grin immediately after!

Coachbuilt Ferraris are about the rarest things you can get in 2019

It won't be long until naturally aspirated V-12s will be arcane, vestiges from a bygone era when people had yet to come up with turbochargers and, instead, resorted to simply adding cylinders to the engine. The Italians have always been poised to create marvellous V-12s but the particularities of a high-revving Italian 12-cylinder engine, such as its perfectly honed soundtrack, are what made these units famous in the middle or in front of Lamborghinis or Ferraris.

It's also the automaker behind the last front-engined car to claim the title of the world's fastest production car. That car, the 365 GTB/4, commonly known as the 'Daytona', could do 174 mph 51 years ago thanks to its 4.4-liter V-12 developing 347 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 318 pound-feet of torque at 5,500 rpm. The Daytona's ability to eat miles for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert was expertly showcased by Brock Yates and Dan Gurney who partnered to cover the distance between New York City and the Portofino Inn on the Pacific Ocean in 35 hours and 54 minutes back in 1971 during the inaugural Cannonball Run.

The tradition was then ruptured by a sudden interest in mid-engined cars, most likely spurred by Lamborghini's astounding Miura. All that changed when the Daytona was replaced by the 365 Berlinetta Boxer, a car that pioneered (for Ferrari) the use in a road car of the flat-12 configuration. Then came the 512 Berlinetta Boxer and its fuel-injected twin brother before Ferrari decided to resurrect a famous name from the past for its 1984 Pininfarina-penned head-turner. With red cam covers, it had to bear the name 'Testarossa' and it did.

At the same time, the mid-engined legacy continued a cut below with the entry-level F355 while, at the sharp end, Ferrari stuck a V-12 in the middle of its ear-splitting F50. There was, Ferrari finally realized, room under the sun for everybody and, also, pockets large enough to buy just about anything Maranello had to offer so this status quo has remained unchanged up until now. But we're sure it can't go on much longer with the 812 Superfast rumored to be the last hurrah, the swan song of the naturally aspirated big displacement V-12 grand tourer.

This is why Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera's creation is particularly special. Because it represents a refined take at a modern classic, without mentioning the obvious fact that re-bodied Ferraris are incredibly rare nowadays with Ferrari handling most one-off or limited-run jobs through its 'Special Projects' department. Back in the '90s, coach-built models were a more common occurrence with Pininfarina filling its bank accounts by taking in commissions from ultra-rich customers who wanted unique models. The last of them was Jim Glickenhaus who wanted to own a modern interpretation of the legendary winner of the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona, the Ferrari 330 P3/4. Pininfarina duly agreed and Glickenhaus reportedly paid $4 million for it 13 years ago or about $5.1 million today. Ferrari didn't like it and, probably, it's no big fan of the F12 Berlinetta Lusso either, but we definitely are.