Ferrari have managed to keep their latest project a secret, up until its official presentation held at the National Art Center in Tokyo.
Built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ferrari in Japan, the supercar, which will be produced in just 10 examples, is based on the 488 Spider and was created by the Special Projects department and Ferrari Styling Center team in Maranello.
It “marks a return to the targa body style evocative of several well-loved Ferrari road cars of the 1970s and 1980s“, as the automaker explains, meaning that unlike the 488 Spider, which uses a folding metal roof, the J50 has a pair of carbon fiber targa panels that stow behind the rear seats. Additionally, Ferrari has went for the 1950s look with a “helmet visor” effect, which sees the sleek windscreen wrap around the cabin.
But these aren’t the only differences between the two exotic vehicles, as the latest Prancing Horse has also adopted a futuristic design language that sees the addition of a more aggressive front end with slim horizontal LED headlights, and raised front wings. The car also has a black dividing line that stretches into the side air vents, reminding of the GTO, F40, and F50, two twin taillights on each side that haven’t been used since the F430, a diffuser inspired by jet engine afterburners and a set of arch-filling 20-inch forged wheels.
Things aren’t so dramatic inside, as the cabin’s only additions are the new trim, and red and black color scheme of the leather and Alcantara details.
Since it’s based on the 488 Spider, it’s only natural that the new Ferrari J50 shares its 3.9-liter V8 twin-turbo engine, which was massaged to deliver an additional 20 PS (20 HP), for a total of 690 PS (680 HP). No performance numbers have been released yet, but the J50 should be a bit more agile over the standard 488 Spider, which needs 3.0 seconds to cover the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint and tops out at 325 km/h (203 mph).
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