www.QV500.com - Ferrari 550 Part 2: 550 Barchetta Pininfarina
 

In September 2000, Ferrari unveiled a second version of the 550 that would go into limited production. Coming just months after Pininfarina had shown the stunning 'Rosso' Barchetta Speciale, it came as a pleasant surprise to find Ferrari were planning their own batch of 448 Barchetta's to celebrate Pininfarina’s 70th Anniversary. Apart from some supplementary bracing, the Barchetta's high tensile welded tubular steel chassis was much the same as the Berlinetta. Weight was practically unchanged too and meant performance would be on a par with the closed car at all but the highest of speeds.

   
Save for a top speed of 185mph, a consequence of the aerodynamic inefficiencies caused by the lack of a roof, 0-60 remained at 4.3 seconds and handling was compromised little. It was the bodywork that inevitably saw the most radical alterations in its transition to Barchetta configuration, Pininfarina removing all evidence of a roof and cutting the windscreen down by 100mm to give a real roadster-like appearance. A muscular tail, flat deck and roll hoops behind each headrest transformed the restrained Berlinetta into a racey extrovert, the Barchetta's sultry lines being almost impossible to criticise in any way. A flimsy manually operated hood was for emergency use only, both Pininfarina and Ferrari reinforcing it was not appropriate for high speed driving. New five spoke riveted alloy Speedline wheels were used and soon after became optionally available on the Maranello while the interior was lifted almost straight out. Nearly all the same interior options were available although many Barchetta's were constructed with more sporting fixtures and fittings, the majority featuring sports seats, for example. With a list price of £173,000, all 448 were pre-sold to favoured Ferrari customers.
 
One particularly interesting example was built on chassis 123652 for Jean Todt, team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team. Finished in Argento, this car received a number of special features including headlight surrounds from Ferrari's then yet-to-be-released 575M along with an instrument binnacle also sourced from the 550's successor. Sports seats were specially embossed with Michael Schumacher's 'MS' scripting while a signed Pininfarina plaque was fitted on the dash. Schumacher's signature could also be found between the roll bars and completed Todt's unique Barchetta Speciale.