Designing one-off or limited-production automobiles has become a huge trend among carmakers, and it usually results in the creation of some breathtaking works of automotive genii, like the BMW M5 CS. But for this list, we’ll be staying away from any German, American, or scarce Japanese sports cars, focusing our attention on the gorgeous land of Italy.
Italian carmakers are known for developing cars with a sense of style, and personality no other country can replicate, so it’s just inevitable that these car brands would have released some of the most over-the-top special-edition sports cars the world has ever seen. And a fair warning beforehand, every single of our entries is road-legal, so no Pagani Huyara R, nor any Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. Sorry, fanboys.
10 2006 Ferrari P4/5 By Pininfarina
This Ferrari might look like a concept supercar set to debut in the year 2050, but in reality, it was an Enzo modified by Pininfarina and built only for one James Glickenhaus who paid a total of $4 million to make his ’60s-inspired racecar a reality.
It had butterfly doors, a mid-engined rear-wheel-drive layout, and that engine was of course the same naturally-aspirated 6.0-liter V12 that was mated to Ferrari’s controversial automated manual F1 transmission. We really wish Ferrari would construct more of these unique one-off models and make them available to the highest bidder.
9 2016 Pagani Huyara Hermès Edition
It’s not often that a supercar owner flies out a team of French designers at his own expense to create a tailored Italian supercar exactly to his liking, but Manny Khosbin is no ordinary car lover. He left his “boring” base model Pagani Huyara in the hands of Hermès, and they did a spectacular job at accentuating its extravagant personality and design.
The normal Huayra comes equipped with a 6.0-liter naturally-aspirated Mercedes-AMG V12 that puts out 720 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque. Hermès didn’t tamper with the engine a whole lot, but they did however coat the exterior body and interior leather in different shades of brown, and although it’s not to everyone’s taste, we sure do appreciate the work put into it.
8 2020 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37
The Lamborghini Sián was the first-ever Lambo to make use of hybrid assistance in collaboration with its screaming 6.5-liter V12 engine, and this resulted in a net power output of more than 800 hp and 530 lb-ft of torque. This resulted in a 0-60 time of 2.8 seconds, and a top speed well above 220 mph.
Buying a Sián was near-impossible since only 63 models were ever manufactured, of which every single one already has been sold. Another unique characteristic of this Lambo is its name, the Sián FKP 37; the word Sián was derived from the Bolognese language, which translates to lightning, FKP was an acronym that referred to Ferdinand Karl Piëch’s initials, who was the Volkswagen Group chairman, and the number 37 symbolizes his birthyear, 1937.
7 2011 Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari
Abarth has released thousands of different special-edition hot hatches throughout the years, like the Esseesse and Biposto, but their all-time great has to be the 695 Tributo which was co-developed by Ferrari. Yes, you heard that right. The Italian supercar manufacturer, Ferrari, has lent their provocative engineering prowess to Abarth and helped birth the craziest Fiat 500 ever.
Only 1,695 Tributo Ferraris were ever built, and each one came equipped with a 1.4-liter turbo-four that projected 180 hp to only the rear wheels. Now that power figure isn’t anywhere near absurdly powerful, but since the Scuderia-striped Abarth weighed less than 2,400 lbs, it could achieve a 0-60 time in just 6.5 seconds, and take corners faster than most sports cars.
6 2019 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ 63
The Aventador has been with us for what feels like an eternity, but unfortunately, the model has been discontinued in 2022… well sort of. After a ship sunk in the Atlantic Ocean that housed several cars from the VW Group, Lamborghini might be forced to resurrect the Aventador name one last time. The most powerful iteration of the Aventador has been dubbed the SVJ, short for SuperVeloce Jota, and the 63 edition is the rarest of them all.
Just like the normal SVJ, it comes equipped with a naturally-aspirated mid-mounted 6.5-liter V12 that pushes out 770 hp and 531 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels and can reach 60 mph from a standstill in just 2.8 seconds. The SVJ itself is rare since only 900 models were made, but the SVJ 63 is even rarer as only 63 were ever made to recognize the year Ferrucio Lamborghini founded the company.
5 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm
The Alfa Rome Giulia is a worthy competitor in today’s day and age of sports saloons, but when Alfa unveiled their carbon fiber-infused GTAm version of the Giulia, the world gasped at its sight – glorious. It’s everything but subtle.
It has four doors, but just two seats, since its rear seats were removed to make space for a roll cage, its carbon fiber ducktail spoiler was also replaced with a gargantuan wing the size of a house, its quad-exhaust pipes were also replaced with a singular twin-exit Akrapovic exhaust, and of course, its twin-turbocharged V6 received a power upgrade. Its 2.9-liter v6 now pumped out 533 hp, and only 500 of these ludicrous track-orientated sports sedans will ever be made, but its $225,000 price tag is somewhat questionable.
4 2016 Ferrari J50
It’s not every day that you see a limited-edition Italian supercar only destined to go on sale in Japan, but Ferrari saw their chance, and they took it. It’s called the Ferrari J50, and underneath all of its gorgeous bodywork, it’s actually a 488 Spider, and in its finished form, it cost approximately $3.6 million to buy.
Only 10 J50 examples ever left the factory floor, and each and every one of them inhabited an upgraded twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 engine that now puts out 690 hp. So not only does it look like the spawn of a 488 and an SF90, but it had more power than the base 488, as well as a carbon fiber targa roof which is seldom found in a modern Ferrari anymore.
3 2021 Alfa Romeo 4C 33 Stradale Tributo
The Alfa Romeo 4C has recently been discontinued, and as a proper send-off, Alfa created its most flamboyant version et, the 33 Stradale Tributo. They didn’t add power steering, nor did they add a central infotainment screen, they didn’t even tweak the engine’s power output at all.
However, every single one of the last 4Cs was finished in a dazzling tri-coat of Rosso Villa d’Este and a splash of red carbon fiber, as well as a set of gold wheels. Only 33 of these were ever manufactured, and its unique exterior appearance directly correlates to Alfa Romeo’s classic supercar, the 33 Stradale, hence the name of course.
2 2012 Ferrari F12 TRS
There were numerous special-edition variants of the Ferrari F12 built, like the F12 TDF and the SP America, but our favorite has to be the F12 TRS. Essentially, the TRS was built by Ferrari’s Special Projects program; they cut off its roof, and made tasteful visual modifications inspired by the classic 250 Testa Rossa – it even had the Barchetta bodystyle.
Although the TRS had an endless amount of cosmetic modifications, our favorite part of it has to be its hood’s glass pane that made that glorious 730 hp 6.3-liter V12 visible to passers-by without even having to pop open the hood.
1 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4
The first Countach was introduced back in the ’70s, and since then many other Lamborghini models have been manufactured, but Lamborghini saw it fitting to celebrate the Countach name’s 50th birthday after premiering at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971. Its slogan reads: “Inspired by the past, made for the future,” and we couldn’t agree more.
Countless classic car names are being revived nowadays, and some are more successful than others, and Lamborghini perfected it. The reimagined Countach is powered by a naturally-aspirated 803 hp 6.5-liter V12, just like the one found in the Aventador SVJ, and it stays true to the original’s wedged design. Only 112 units will ever be produced, and each one will set buyers back around $2.6 million; a steep price, but well-deserved.
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