Recalling the great grand-touring Ferraris of yesteryear, the 550 Maranello heralded the triumphant return of the two-seater, front-engined, V-12 Ferrari road car.

Beautifully styled and with exceptional performance credentials, the 550 was the perfect tool for cross-continental blasts, with ample space for a couple and their luggage and an autobahn-storming top speed approaching 200 mph.

Importantly for driving connoisseurs, the 550 Maranello also was the last GT car Ferrari built entirely with a manual transmission.

Looking to affirm the 550 Maranello’s capabilities on the racetrack, Ferrari brought a lightly modified 550 to the Transportation Research Center in Columbus, Ohio in October 1998 to see what it could achieve.

The car broke three records for production vehicles: 100 miles at an average speed of 190.2 mph; one hour at an average speed of 184 mph; and 100 kilometers at 188.9 mph.

In celebration of the accomplishment, Ferrari decided to build a handful of limited-editio...