A V12 with the wind in your hair: Touring Superleggera strips the roof off the Ferrari 550

© Touring Superleggera

Italian atelier Touring Superleggera has unveiled the Veloce12 Aperta — the open-top version of its project built on the Ferrari 550 Maranello. This is not a new Ferrari but a pricey restomod interpretation of the classic front-engined V12 with a manual gearbox, a removable roof and an almost museum-grade attention to detail.

The roof consists of two removable panels that stow away in a dedicated compartment inside the car. An aluminium arch now frames the rear window, while the Alba White exterior with a white-and-burgundy cabin nods to the Maserati 3500 GT. Beneath the elegant skin, the Ferrari hardware remains: a 5.5-litre V12 producing around 500 bhp, rear-wheel drive and a six-speed manual gearbox with an open gate.

Performance is unchanged from the coupe: 0–100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, top speed around 290 km/h. A Supersprint exhaust handles the soundtrack and the body is made of carbon fibre. Also on the spec sheet: Brembo brakes, TracTive adaptive suspension, a stiffened chassis, plenty of leather and just enough modern electronics — exactly the dose required not to ruin the old-school atmosphere.

Touring Superleggera CEO Markus Tellenbach described the new car this way: “The Veloce12 Aperta offers the duality that bridges the muscular presence of the Veloce12 Coupe and the unrestrained freedom of the Veloce12 Barchetta.” The phrasing is grandiose, but the intent is clear: the company is trying to slot in between a closed grand tourer and a radical open-top speedster.

The production run has not been announced yet: it is unclear whether the Aperta is included in the original 30-car Veloce12 allocation or gets a separate quota. As a price reference, the coupe started at €690,000 plus a donor Ferrari 550 Maranello — roughly $785,000, before adding the donor car itself, taxes and bespoke options.

A car like this is not bought for outright acceleration: modern Ferraris and McLarens are faster, more advanced and often cheaper. The Veloce12 Aperta sells something else — rarity, the sound of a naturally aspirated V12, a true manual gearbox and the feeling that the car still demands the driver’s involvement rather than simply executing commands from a screen.