Pininfarina finishes custom Eric Clapton Ferrari
The one-off, $4.7-million Ferrari is Clapton's modern-day 512 Berlinetta Boxer -- and it won't sit in his garage.
Ferrari offers the option of personalization on every car that it sells, so long as you have the coin. But if you're really flush, like guitar legend Eric Clapton, and you are a preferred Ferrari customer, you can go even further.
When Clapton made the request for a 512 Boxer Berlinetta-inpsired version of the Ferrari 458 Italia, the company and its exclusive design house Pininfarina happily obliged. What they came up with was a true one-off called the SP12 EC and a price of $4.7 million.
The car retains the heart of the 458, a 4.5-liter V8 making 562 horsepower at a stratospheric 9,000 rpm. At one point, Clapton wanted a V12—like the 512's—but was persuaded that the 458 would be more practical and flexible. It would also make the build cheaper and easier.
When Ferrari Magazine asked if Clapton enjoyed the process, he said it was one of the most satisfying things he's ever done.
“There will never be anything like this again. This is me listening to Fangio and Ascari. It's all there,” said Clapton.
His first experience with Ferrari was when George Harrrison arrived at his house in a 1969 Ferrari 365 GTC. Clapton said it was “the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.”
He's owned three BBs since then, one of which was damaged in a crash that Clapton says was his fault. He says the integrity of the 512's design may have saved his life. Clapton says the car won't just be a show piece: It will be driven (like all his cars).
“As much as it's a beautiful, one-off thing, it still has to be used properly. It's like riding a horse,” Clapton told Ferrari Magazine. “At some point you have to establish the relationships. So the truth is there might be a few dents along the way . . . it's going to happen. And I'm fine with that.”
-- Jake Lingeman
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