Ferrari 599 meets 1970s Corvette Stingray

We've seen plenty of conversions where customisers have attempted to Ferrari-ise a Corvette, but this is the first example of the process in reverse.

Pictured alongside is a one-off special car dubbed the Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta, and it was crafted to the owner's specific requirements via the prancing horse's Portfolio programme, which enables well-heeled customers to design and subsequently own cars that are, quite literally, unique.

The bespoke Fezza's owner, American Edward Walson, is somewhat famous in his own right as his father, John Walson, was the inventor of cable TV.

It's therefore fitting that the inspiration for P540 Superfast Aperta was a film -- 1968's 'Toby Dammit', which featured a unique Ferrari built by Carrozzeria Fantuzzi specifically for the movie.

"I had always dreamed of designing sports cars," Walson explains, "and when I saw this film the decision came of its own accord: one day I would have 'my' Ferrari."

Ferrari says it had to perform major surgery on the donor 599 GTB to come up with the targa-topped end result, which meets all the same safety and homologation requirements of normal production road car.

The deletion of the roof (a major structural element) required Ferrari's labcoats to find a way to strengthen the chassis, but the weight gain was kept to just 20kg, thanks to the extensive use of carbonfibre.

Although far from a simple conversion, the car progressed from the initial sketches to road-legal state in just 14 months.

Penning the car's lines was left to style-meisters Pininfarina, but the P540 was built at the Ferrari factory in Maranello. Walson was also able to offer his input, as he was involved in each stage of its development.

The mechanicals are untouched, which means the bespoke Fezza retains the standard 6.0-litre V12. In any case, its outputs of 456kW and 608Nm were hardly lacking in the first place.

The American was well pleased with the result as he took delivery of the car at Ferrari's Fiorano test track, exclaiming: "This is the most special Christmas present of my life!"

Unfortunately, our collective Christmas stockings are likely to be less well endowed. Perhaps a bottle or two of cologne or a new power drill... if we're lucky.