2001 | Ferrari 550 Barchetta

Highlights

Just 568 kilometres from new

Ferrari Classiche certified

Matching numbers

Retaining its two red special-edition Ferrari 550 Barchetta crash helmets, complete with their cloth bags and brown leather visors

Accompanied by its factory documents pouch and complete set of books, certificate of origin, car cover, tool kit and tyre compressor

Retaining its original Rosso Corsa paintwork, canvas roof and Pirelli P Zero tyres

The 138th of only 448 Ferrari 550 Barchettas built

Right-hand drive

A virginal example of the 550 Barchetta – a limited-edition, open-top, front-engined V12 Ferrari with a manual gearbox

The Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina

Creating a worthy successor for the eye-wateringly pretty GTS/4 ‘Daytona’ Spider was no mean feat for Ferrari, which probably explains why it took the company 31 years to finally do it. Suffice to say, the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina was worth the wait.

It was also a fitting way of commemorating the 70th birthday of Pininfarina, the illustrious engineer of elegance from Turin previously responsible for the design of such fabled Ferraris as the 250 GT ‘Lusso’ and, of course, the ‘Daytona’.

Introduced at the Paris salon in 2000, the Ferrari 550 Barchetta was drop-dead gorgeous, differing from its closed-roof counterpart in a number of intricate ways. The windscreen, for example, was shorter and more aggressively raked, resulting in a more sleek overall profile. The boot was restyled and, bizarrely for a convertible, more specious as a result. And the fuel filler cap was hewn from aluminium.

The Barchetta also received as standard several features that were optional (and, being a Ferrari, alarmingly expensive) on the coupe – big racing bucket seats, for example, a smattering of carbon-fibre trim and 19-inch two-piece alloy wheels. The front-engined V12 was a Barchetta in the truest sense of the word. Ferrari half-heartedly provided a soft-top, although it was only deemed ‘safe’ below 70mph. Who wants to drive their drop-top V12 in the rain, anyway?

Ferrari intended to build 444 examples of the 550 Barchetta, but four is an unlucky number in Japan, which worried the bigwigs in Maranello sufficiently enough for them to add four more. Each of the 448 cars (which immediately sold out) boasts an individually numbered plaque on the dash bearing the signature of Sergio Pininfarina. We, for one, are sure he was proud of this rare and incredibly elegant V12 Gran Turismo.

Barchetta no. 138

The 550 Barchetta Pininfarina presented here, chassis number 4116, is number 138 of the 448 examples built. It was delivered new to Hong Kong via the Official Ferrari Dealer Italian Motors Ltd. in July of 2001. Ferrari carried out two recall campaigns on the car in June and October of 2003. It emerged again in Malaysia in July of 2012, when it was serviced by the Official Ferrari Dealer Naza Italia. The mileage was noted as just 54 kilometres. Later that year, this 550 Barchetta was submitted for Ferrari Classiche certification. The red certification binder that accompanies the car today confirms chassis number 4116 to be a fully matching-numbers car.

The car remained in Malaysia for 10 years, during which time it was serviced on four occasions and covered a mere 545 kilometres. We first encountered this Barchetta in the autumn of 2022, when it arrived with us here at Belchers Farm to be sold. After sending the car to the Official Ferrari Dealer H.R. Owen for a major service (the total cost of which was over £8,000), we sold it to a client based in the United States of America. He opted to store the car with us, meaning that chassis number 4116 has remained in our care ever since. The current mileage reads 568 kilometres.

As a result of its remarkably sheltered life, the condition of this Ferrari is very clean and very original. After a thorough inspection, which included full paint-depth reading, we can confirm that it retains its original Rosso Corsa paintwork. The wheels are still shod with their original Pirelli P Zero tyres. As the inspection photos below illustrate, the wheelarches and engine bay are extremely clean, commensurate with the mileage and the climate of the region in which the car spent most of its life.

Satisfyingly, chassis number 4116 retains its factory documents pouch complete with Certificate of Origin, Warranty and Service Book, Alarm System booklet, Owners’ Manual, Sales and Service booklet and Hi-Fi System Warranty Card. In the boot you’ll find the fitted leather bag containing the canvas roof arrangement and the red Ferrari car cover. Beneath the boot floor are the leather tool kit and the bagged tyre compressor kit. The proverbial cherries on the cake are the two red special-edition Ferrari 550 Barchetta crash helmets, complete with their yellow cloth bags and brown leather visors.

This virginal Ferrari is now seeking a new home. A limited-edition drop-top Ferrari V12 with enough special features to distinguish it from its closed-roof counterpart, the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina is a veritable modern classic. Number 138 presents an extremely rare opportunity to acquire an ultra-low-mileage and highly original example – attributes on which today’s discerning collectors place enormous importance.

Price Upon Application

Maintenance History

June 2003 – Recall Campaign at Official Ferrari Dealer

October 2003 – Recall Campaign at Official Ferrari Dealer

July 2012 – Service at Official Ferrari Dealer – Mileage noted as 54km

January 2015 – Service at Official Ferrari Dealer – Mileage noted as 60km

May 2019 – Service at Official Ferrari Dealer – Mileage noted as 106km

March 2020 – Service at Official Ferrari Dealer – Mileage noted as 111km

November 2021 – Service at Official Ferrari Dealer – Mileage noted as 545km

December 2022 – Service at Official Ferrari Dealer – Mileage noted as 562km

Price Upon Application