When Ferrari’s 40th anniversary supercar, the F40, became an enormous, acclaimed success, the company’s engineers recognized that the upcoming 50th anniversary would require something even more superlative.

Four years of development were invested into a dedicated road car that would have characteristically strong ties to Ferrari’s then-current racing technology, including the chassis design, founded on a lightweight carbon fiber tub.

Pininfarina’s designers outdid themselves with curvaceous coachwork, molded from carbon fiber, Kevlar, and Nomex, that evoked Maranello’s most legendary sports-racers of the 1950s and 1960s, while also bearing a close resemblance to their Formula 1 entrants of the modern era.

The latter was no coincidence, as the engine carried in this spectacular creation was the type F130B V-12 that had begun life in Ferrari’s 1992 Formula 1 car, and underwent further development in the 4-liter 333 SP sports car, which won numerous drivers' and constructors' champions...