Ferrari Monza lands Down Under

Australian buyers of the exotic Ferrari SP1 Monza got an unexpected bonus for their $3m-plus purchase in the lead-up to the Australian Grand Prix.

They were given a private audience with Ferrari’s Formula 1 headliner, the four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

The meeting came during an owners-only event on Thursday night at Albert Park, as Ferrari boosted its involvement in the Rolex Australian F1 Grand Prix party with its first activation including a display of the Monza roadster.

Ferrari is not saying how many Monza owners there will be in Australia, only that the number is considerably less than the number of cars that were requested from Italy.

“It’s a very, very good number. But not nearly what we need,” the CEO of Ferrari Australasia, Herbert Appleroth, told carsales.

“Not enough. We had over 50 expressions of interest for the car.”

The SP1 Monza is one of a pair of prototypes that were revealed at the Paris Motor Show in late 2018 and is widely regarded as an instant classic and the wildest series-production car in the company’s history.

Production begins later this year (2019) as Ferrari celebrates its 90th anniversary.

Appleroth teased a few details.

“Every single car is tailor-made,” he says, before revealing another Vettel-style bonus.

“Each owner gets Loro Piana driving suits, helmets, goggles, gloves and boots from Berluti, the world’s leading leather-maker.”

The Monza is powered by a 6.3-litre V12 engine delivering 603kW and 719Nm -- more than enough for a 2.9sec blast 0-100km/h and a top speed well beyond 300km/h.

Without giving a final figure, Appleroth says the base price of the car is 1.4m Euros ex-factory – that is before customisation, taxes, GST and conversion to Australian dollars.

Monza deliveries will not begin until 2020, but Appleroth confirmed five new Ferrari models during 2019, as part of plan to put 15 newcomers into the line-up over the next five years.

What are they?

“They are not announced yet,” Appleroth stated.