Ferrari release ‘P80/C’
The latest in a string of bespoke customer builds from Ferrari is the ‘P80/C’. Created for an anonymous client, the P80/C took four years to turn from brief to completion (the longest development time for any one-off project thus far), with Ferrari’s design, engineering and aerodynamics teams said to have worked hand-in-glove with the client through every stage of the process
Revealed in March, the P80/C has been described as an entirely new and modern take on the Ferrari sports prototype concept, with the client’s requested design features inspired by sports racers from the past, including the 330 P3/P4 and Dino 206 S, but the rest of the one-off was to make no concessions to the marque’s past.
A thoroughly modern car, created purely for the racetrack and with significant chassis, body and drivetrain changes, the P80/C is what the carmaker calls “a new kind of product that simply did not exist in the current Ferrari range”.
488 Base
A 488 GT3 chassis was chosen as the P80/C’s starting point, partly for its performance characteristics, but also for its 50mm longer wheelbase compared to the standard 488 GTB: a seemingly small increase that nonetheless allowed more freedom in the one-off’s packaging.
This freedom was manifested in a cab-forward layout, longer rear-end and wedge shape that’s said to be more aggressive overall - a cornerstone of the one-off’s design brief from the beginning.
Very broad rear buttresses flank large air intakes to the 488 GT3-spec mid-mounted 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 engine and converge on the roof. Ferrari says this gives the impression that the cabin is fused to the body, while the wrap-around windscreen references past Ferrari sports prototypes.
While aerodynamic elements were based on the 488 GT3, with a profile inspired by Formula 1 racers, the client has no plans to race the one-off in any existing series or class, so these elements could be reworked without fear of making the car ineligible for competition. The same freedom explains why there’s an almost wing-like structure to the front end and headlights that are minimal to the point of being almost invisible.
At the rear, the tail lights are also scaled down, consisting of narrow slits below the bulky rear wing.
A mesh rear fascia leaves the running gear exposed, but serves a functional purpose in allowing more heat to escape from the engine bay. Below this is a rear diffuser that beats the rear wing for sheer size.
For all its outlandish appearance, the aero is absolutely functional, with Ferrari claiming a 5 per cent improvement in overall efficiency compared to the 488 GT3.
Show and Go
The P80/C’s body is made entirely from carbon fibre, but only a handful of elements are left in a raw finish, with the rest draped in Rosso Vero (True Red) paint; a colour not in the Ferrari paint catalogue, but one chosen – and named – by the client to reflect his loyalty to “Ferrari’s sports prototype traditions”.
The client also requested a “dual purpose” for the vehicle, so the oversized carbon fibre wing and 18-inch wheels can be exchanged for a 21-inch wheel package and less ostentatious aero. Ferrari calls the former a ‘racing set-up’ and the latter an ‘exhibition package’.
No performance figures for the P80/C have been released, with Ferrari similarly coy on the 488 GT3’s maximums, but outputs from that model are alleged to be at 448kW and 700Nm, so expect the one-off car’s output to be in that ballpark, possibly higher as there’s no need to meet homologation requirements.
Inside the P80/C, it’s largely standard 488 GT3 spec, but the seats have been modified and retrimmed, with the door cards also redesigned, but unlike the seats, these have been left in raw carbon fibre.
Alterations to the sides of the dash, to co-ordinate with the bodywork changes, are the only other listed deviations from stock.
While no costing for the P80/C has been revealed, this “most extreme” creation is almost certainly Ferrari’s most expensive one-off, too, with a seven-figure build cost a certainty and an eight-figure sum a possibility.
