550 convertible

anyone have info on this car. it's the first one i've seen.
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search the archives. lots of info on convertible 550s. very little experience, but all sorts of links and data.

doody.

 

did a quick search before posting and didn't find anything on this car...

 

It's called the 550 Barchetta. Plug that name into your searches and you're bound to come up with something.

 

um... no, it's not the barchetta. the roll bars are missing and the boot is diff.

 

It is one of 2 in the world.
A fully operational convertible top.

Done by Straman..

PM me for more info..

 

Straman conversion, I think. It's a little pricey at $200k, IMO. Especially as a 1998.

 

Far better looking IMO than the Barchetta ... what Ferrari should have built.

Pete

 

Minatakin,

Did you see this car in person? Is it on display somewhere? I'd love to get a closer look at a 550 cabrio.

I've seen the Barchetta but I agree that this is the car that Ferrari should have build alongside the Barchetta! Why not? Option A: with a roof, Option B: roadster Barchetta, and Option C: fully operational soft top. Yeah!

Mike

 

well, for starters:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/251280/322167.html

doody.

 

Where is this maranello for sale ?

 

sexy car.

 

doody: thanx for the search link. i didn't doubt this was discussed earlier; didn't think of the "spider" search.

cabrio_fan: didn't see it in person. here's the link

http://www.beverlyhillsclassiccars.com/htmls/inventory_detail.cfm?inventoryid=43

 

i believe that car has been at BHCC forever.

anybody in that area care to swing by and take some snaps and find out who did the conversion? i thought stramann (sp) was out of the biz by the time the 550 existed.

doody.

 

I wonder how much the conversion costs..looks really good !

 

Looks decent, but not safe in any way.

 

i definately think that the barchetta is far better looking than this car. this convertable lost some of the lines in the back. when u look at a barchetta, the lines from the roll bars to the trunk are preserved. this is just an opinion though.

as far as this is what ferrari should have bulit? well, if ur talking about maximizing sales...well yes they would have made a killing on this car. but maybe they're holding out to make a 575 spyder. but the barchetta is in no way trying to be a spyder. the 550 barchetta is suppose to represent what the 166MM barchetta is. a truely open air front engine V12. that was the car that made ferrari winning not only le mans, but the targa floria, and the milli mille (sp?). i believe that it was the only car to ever do that. but anyway, nothing represents the true roots of ferrari better than an open air front engine V12...and thats what the 550 barchetta is. as you can see, im a huge fan of the barchetta!

 

The car, if it is the same one I have seen, is now for sale in California.
It was bought by a customer at Wide World of Cars and then sent out to Straman for the convertible top for about $100K(just for the conversion).
Straman after delivery of the car, decided to not do the car market anymore. He was at the time doing VW's new bugs.

As for when the car was done....
It was about 1 year before the barchetta... the customer was shocked when he found out Ferrari was making one...

 

I think it looks better than the Barchetta. Its lines flow better.

 

That car has been popping up for sale for over 4 years.

195K seem high but it is beautiful in person.

DL

 

In my opinion the 550 Barchetta looks better.
Now It will be interesting to see if Ferrari will make a Spider version of the 550/575 replacement.

 

i wonder what the top-up speed rating is on this car. straman does good work but what happens at 150mph+?

 

I have seen this or a very similar car at WWoC over a year ago. It looks beautiful in person (much better than the Barchetta IMHO), but I was told from the mechanics about the Straman I was that the car had cowl shake and rattles.

$200K is a LOT for a non-factory convertible.

 

Beautifully Car! Although I like the Barchetta, I hope they replace it with
a more practical design that can be driven rain or shine, something more
along these lines.

 

Interesting...........