For some the Ferrari 458 isn’t Speciale enough – or at least for one British buyer who politely asked the Italians to design a one-off styling special.
Called the 458 MM Speciale – we assume a nod to the undisclosed buyer’s initials – this version of the naturally aspirated V8-engined supercar has completely different panels to the production car, yet is no aftermarket accessory pack.
Instead the MM was designed in-house by Ferrari Styling Centre as the brand’s “latest one-off creation” as directed by a single buyer. Unsurprisingly there’s no dollar figure attached to this more-than-Speciale supercar.
Painted white with Italian flag livery – officially Bianco Italia – the handcrafted coupe gets aluminium panels and carbonfibre composite front and rear bumpers.
The buyer apparently demanded “extremely sporty lines” and specified “a 'visor' effect for the glasshouse … a black-painted A-pillar, very much in the style of the 1984 Ferrari GTO.”
The most sizeable change to the 458 Speciale is a more sharply defined side character crease that points upwards towards a heavily scalloped side air scoop that is absent from the production car. That crease cuts into the front bar to create a lower wrap-around beltline and add vertical definition to the more flowing 2014 model.
Those edgy lines continue at the rear, which has a more sharply defined lip spoiler than the 458 Speciale and a more angular rear bar treatment.
It looks like enough change to be considered a proper facelift for the 458 Speciale, and to our eyes a good one at that. But with the turbocharged 488 GTB already here and a 488 Speciale no doubt in the works, the 458 MM Speciale will only act as a teaser for everyone except that one very lucky owner.
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