Ferrari reveals special 458 Italia for China

Ferrari has revealed a limited edition 458 Italia to mark 20 years of importing cars into China.

The special 458 Italia, strictly limited to just 20 cars, is finished in a bespoke brand new colour called Marco Polo Red, which it say has been specially developed for the ’20th Anniversary Special Edition’ model.

This is set off by a whole host of one-off Chinese-themed features — including gold wheels, gold and black stripes on the roof, gold aero inlets and, the crowing feature, a golden dragon on the bonnet.

Inside, the headrests have been embroidered in gold, there’s a 20th Anniversary Special Edition plaque on the dash, plus a detail we really love — the starter button is inscribed with the Chinese characters for ‘start’.

The 20 cars are only for the Chinese market, which should ensure real collectability. The car will make its debut at the inauguration of Ferrari’s first-ever permanent brand exhibition outside Maranello, at the Italia Centre of Shanghai World Expo Park.

The 900 square metre Ferrari Exhibition will last for three years and will be packed with collections from the Maranello Museum. Ferrari says these will be divided into five categories — Ferrari in China, green tech, product, design and racing.

Ferrari’s 20-year history in China began with an order for a 348 TS in Beijing. Since then, the market has grown to become one of Ferrari’s most important — indeed, many analysts expect China to eventually overtake the US and become Ferrari’s biggest new car market of all.