Ah, the sights, sounds and colors of Ferrari exotica

Editor’s note: One of Howard Koby’s assignments for the ClassicCars.com Journal during Monterey Car Week 2021 was to cover the “Ferrari parade” that would end on the first fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links. We didn’t know he’d talk his way into “covering” the event from the passenger’s seat of one of the exotic cars.

Among the activities taking place during Monterey Car Week this year was a special treat for the Ferraristi. Ferrari itself hosted a Ferrari-only parade and concorso featuring around 100 historic and contemporary models.

I spotted Jon Shirley’s 1960 Ferrari 250GT California Spider Comp LWB Alloy sports car, saw the passenger seat was vacant, and asked the driver if I could sit shotgun.

Sure, he responded, so with delicate hands I slipped into the leather-lined position and we chatted about this superb steed.

Such vintage cars and some of the new Monza SP1 and SP2 vehicles assembled along Pebble Beach’s Concours Village drive and cruised along 17-Mile Drive to the Casa Ferrari hospitality village on the first fairway. The cars arrived the day before the Pebble Beach concours and got to remain there Sunday as well.

I had the time of my life nestled in the Cal Spider as we motored along the scenic route with the musical notes of Ferrari exhaust sounding the way onto the lush fairway for the Concorso Ferrari exhibition.

Ferrari says the 40 or so Monza SP1 and SP2 cars — the number in the name indicating the number of seats in these racing-style vehicles present at Pebble Beach — “Reinterpret the timeless style of the Ferrari racers that competed throughout the 1950s.” 

The Monza models are based on the 812 Superfast and made their public debut at the 2018 Paris Auto Show. Inspiration for the vehicles came from the iconic Ferrari racing barchettas, including the 1948 166MM and the 750 and 860 Monza.

Considered the most evocative cars from Maranello production, only 499 have been produced. The SP1 is a single seater with a tonneau cover and the SP2 has a second seat , as well as a second windscreen and a second roll-bar, “allowing a passenger to enjoy the same thrills as the driver.”

Beneath the long carbon fiber hood rests a 6.5-liter V12 from the 812 Superfast, dialing in at 798 horsepower with 530 pound-feet of torque. A 7-speed dual-clutch transmission drives the limited-edition series cars to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds and to 124 mph in less than 8 seconds.

“These Prancing Horses are not street legal yet but Ferrari is working on a kit to allow the car on the street and the price details are to be determined,” said Joe Cauley, a Ferrari dealer visiting from Michigan.

The price? Around $1.8 million, depending on the options.

“The suspension is telepathic,” suggested Lauren Mendelson, who was driving an SP1. “It almost knows what you’re going to do before you do it. When I’m talking about cars, it is like talking about my non-human kids.”