Ferrari Monza SP2: A Shared Symphony
When Ferrari launched the “Icona” series in 2018, they presented a difficult choice to their most esteemed clients. They could purchase the Monza SP1, a purist, single-seat barchetta that isolated the driver in a selfish bubble of V12 noise and rushing air. Or, for those who wished to terrify a passenger, they could choose the Ferrari Monza SP2.
The SP2 shares the identical chassis, engine, and breathtaking 1950s-inspired aesthetic as the SP1, but it fundamentally alters the emotional experience. By removing the carbon-fiber tonneau cover that seals the passenger side of the SP1, Ferrari created a two-seat open-cockpit hypercar. It is a machine that harks back to the golden era of the Mille Miglia, designed not just for individual thrills, but for a shared, visceral assault on the senses.
Historical Context: The Icona Philosophy
The “Icona” series represents Ferrari’s most ambitious effort to use contemporary technology in service of historical inspiration. Where most special editions are focused on performance records or racing heritage, the Icona cars ask a different question: what would it feel like to drive a 1950s sports racing car if you could apply 21st-century engineering to the brief?
The 1950s barchetta — literally “little boat,” referring to the shallow, scooped body shape — was the dominant form of Italian sports racing cars of the era. Cars like the Ferrari 166 MM, the 750 Monza, and the 860 Monza were pure expressions of this form: lightweight, open-cockpit, mid-mounted engines (by later standards), spectacularly beautiful, and utterly uncompromising in their focus on performance.
The men who raced these cars — Piero Taruffi, Mike Hawthorn, Juan Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill — did so without seatbelts, without rollover protection, without fire suppression systems, and without the electronic safety nets that modern drivers take for granted. They experienced speed in a completely unmediated way, with every sensation amplified by the absence of protection. The Icona series does not pretend to replicate that danger. But it does attempt to replicate the sensation — to let a contemporary driver experience something approaching the visceral rawness of those great cars.
The name “Monza” honors the ancient circuit north of Milan where Ferrari has raced since the earliest days of the company, and where some of the most famous barchetta battles took place in the 1950s.
Design: Asymmetry Resolved
While the single-seat SP1 is defined by its striking asymmetry, the SP2 restores balance to the cabin. The design, penned by the Ferrari Styling Centre, remains a masterclass in modern coachbuilding.
The bodywork is crafted entirely from carbon fiber. The front clamshell, which incorporates the hood and fenders, hinges forward as a single, massive piece to reveal the majestic V12 beneath. The silhouette is incredibly low and sleek, completely uninterrupted by a windshield, A-pillars, or a roof.
Behind both the driver and the passenger sit twin aerodynamic roll hoops that taper gracefully into the rear deck. These fairings not only provide crucial rollover protection but also serve to smooth the turbulent air exiting the open cockpit, managing the aerodynamic wake of two occupants instead of just one.
The doors remain the dramatic, upward-opening “swan-wing” style, requiring a deliberate step over the wide, carbon-fiber sills to drop into the deep bucket seats.
The attention to detail in the SP2’s design is extraordinary. The body-colored surfaces that connect the engine cover to the rear deck are sculptural rather than merely utilitarian. The way the rear haunches blend into the diffuser is handled with an elegance that references the hand-beaten aluminum bodies of the original Monza racers. The SP1’s asymmetry — which created a striking but slightly unsettling visual tension — is replaced in the SP2 with a classical bilateral symmetry that feels more immediately beautiful.
The Virtual Wind Shield (Times Two)
The most significant engineering challenge of an open-cockpit car capable of exceeding 300 km/h is managing the wind. Without a windshield, the sheer force of the air would make it physically impossible to keep your eyes open or breathe comfortably at speed.
Like the SP1, the SP2 utilizes Ferrari’s patented Virtual Wind Shield. This ingenious aerodynamic passage is integrated into the fairing ahead of the instrument cluster. It captures high-pressure air flowing over the hood and accelerates it upwards through a narrow slot just ahead of the steering wheel. This creates a vertical jet of fast-moving air that acts as an invisible ramp, deflecting the oncoming wind over the driver’s head.
Crucially, in the SP2, this technology is mirrored on the passenger side. A second, slightly smaller Virtual Wind Shield is integrated ahead of the passenger seat to ensure they are afforded the same level of aerodynamic protection. While both occupants will still feel the wind rushing through their hair (and are provided with bespoke vintage-style goggles by Ferrari), the system drastically reduces buffeting, making high-speed touring a viable reality.
The engineering behind the Virtual Wind Shield is genuinely innovative. Creating a laminar flow of air that rises predictably in the correct direction requires careful attention to the upstream surface shape, the slot geometry, and the velocity of the emerging air stream. Too fast and it creates turbulence; too slow and it provides insufficient protection. Ferrari’s aero engineers spent considerable time in both computer simulation and wind tunnel testing to optimize the system for two different positions simultaneously.
The F140 GA V12: 810 Horsepower
Both Monza models are built upon the aluminum chassis of the 812 Superfast, meaning they inherit one of the greatest engines ever produced in Maranello: the 6.5-liter (6,496 cc) naturally aspirated V12.
For the Icona series, this engine (the F140 GA) received optimized intake fluid dynamics, resulting in a power bump. The engine produces a staggering 810 cv (799 hp) at a screaming 8,500 rpm and 719 Nm (530 lb-ft) of torque at 7,000 rpm.
Because the SP2 lacks a roof or side windows, the acoustic experience is entirely unfiltered. The sound of the V12 — a deep, mechanical growl at low revs that builds into a piercing, Formula 1-esque shriek near the redline — fills the cabin completely. It is an automotive concert where both driver and passenger have front-row seats.
The sound experience in the SP2 differs from the SP1 in subtle but meaningful ways. Two people in the cabin create a slightly different acoustic environment than one — the reflected sound paths are different, and the passenger’s presence adds a degree of companionship to the experience that changes how the driver perceives and responds to the car’s feedback. This is not merely psychological; the absence of the SP1’s carbon tonneau over the passenger seat changes the way air flows through and around the cabin at speed.
Performance and Dynamics
Despite adding a second seat and the associated structural reinforcement, the SP2 only gains about 20 kg over the single-seat SP1, bringing its dry weight to 1,520 kg (3,351 lbs).
This slight weight increase does not blunt the performance. Power is routed through a 7-speed dual-clutch transaxle, propelling the SP2 from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in the same blistering 2.9 seconds as the SP1. It reaches 200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.9 seconds.
The top speed is officially “>300 km/h” (>186 mph). Achieving this speed in an open barchetta requires immense bravery from both occupants, as the sensation of speed is exponentially magnified without the isolation of a closed cabin.
To manage this immense performance, the SP2 features Ferrari’s latest chassis technology, including Virtual Short Wheelbase (rear-wheel steering) to increase low-speed agility and high-speed stability, and the advanced Side Slip Control (SSC) system to flatter the driver when exploring the limits of grip.
The rear-wheel steering system is particularly valuable in a car of this type. At speeds where the open-cockpit experience is most dramatic — tight mountain roads, fast sweepers — the ability to virtually shorten the wheelbase makes the SP2 feel genuinely nimble despite its 812 Superfast underpinnings. The car turns in precisely and confidently, which is exactly what you need when you are experiencing the full acoustic assault of 810 horsepower with the sky above your head.
Bespoke Equipment and Personalization
Each SP2 was delivered with a comprehensive set of bespoke equipment acknowledging the car’s singular nature.
The helmet-style goggles provided are designed in a vintage racing style but incorporate modern materials and UV protection. They are functional — genuinely necessary for comfortable high-speed driving — but also beautiful objects that connect the car to the history it references.
Ferrari’s Atelier personalization program was fully available for SP2 buyers, and given the $1.8 million starting price and the limited 499-unit combined production run (shared between SP1 and SP2), virtually every example was specified in a completely bespoke manner. No two SP2s are identical in specification.
The Shared Experience
Ferrari limited the total combined production of the Monza SP1 and SP2 to just 499 units. Customers were allowed to choose their preferred configuration, and the SP2 proved to be the more popular choice, simply because the joy of driving a multi-million-dollar, roofless V12 Ferrari is an experience best shared.
The human element is at the heart of the SP2’s appeal. When you drive a remarkable car alone, your experience is intimate but necessarily self-contained. When you share it with another person — when you see their face in your peripheral vision as the V12 opens up and the acceleration pushes both of you into the seat backs — the experience is amplified. Their reactions become part of your experience. Their presence transforms the SP2 from a personal statement into a shared memory.
The Ferrari Monza SP2 is not a practical vehicle. It requires a helmet or goggles to drive, it has no weather protection, and it cannot be driven on a track day that mandates a roll cage. But practicality is irrelevant here. The SP2 is an exercise in pure emotion — a rolling tribute to the legendary racers of the 1950s that delivers a sensory overload that no modern, enclosed supercar can possibly match.