Ferrari F12 goes topless – for a few

Ferrari has come clean with its US-only V12-powered F60 America roadster, created to celebrate the Prancing Horse brand's 60th year of operations in North America.

Only 10 units have been built for the North American market and even if you had the fiduciary wherewithal to acquire one, it's unlikely you'd succeed.

That's because each of the 10 vehicles costs around €2.5 million ($A3.6m), a significant increase over the circa $700K Ferrari F12 Berlinetta on which it's based, and as previously reported all 10 examples are already sold.

Biggest change from the F12 coupe is the lack of a roof, with the F60 featuring a "light fabric top" that can be used to ensure driver and passenger don't get wet, but it can only be used at speeds of up to 120km/h (75mph).

Other visual and aero changes from the F12 Berlinetta include a newly sculpted front-end, re-profiled bonnet, new doors and front guards with air-vents, all of which provide the vehicle with a tough new visual.

Swing around to rear and the car adopts a pair of carbon-fibre accented leather-trimmed roll bars designed to protect occupants if the car finds itself upside down. They also feature "flying buttresses" that flow back towards the boot and subtle lip spoiler.

New-look brake lights, a more extravagant diffuser and the removal of the F12's aerobridge motif round out the changes to the rear of the expensive supercar.

Finished exclusively in blue with white stripes, referencing the North American Racing Team (NART) livery, the car's classic paint job is a tip of the hat to cars such as Ferrari's 1967 275 GTS4 NART Spider.

Propulsion for the Ferrari F60 America is provided by a face-rippling 545kW/690Nm 6.3-litre V12, which ensures a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.1 seconds. Power is channelled from the front-mounted 12-banger to the rear wheels via dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox.

The F60 America is a "wonderfully elegant and unique" vehicle, says Ferrari, and features an interior fit-out to match. Indeed, the asymmetric design sees the driver's seat and surroundings finished in bright crimson colours, while the passenger is surrounded by dark shades and black leather.

Ferrari says the unorthodox interior design was also inspired by its historic race cars.