Watch former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg thrash a Ferrari Monza SP1 around Fiorano
The Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 are part of the limited edition ‘Icona’ series that pays homage to the Italian marque’s glorious racing past. Inspired by the 750 Monza racer of the Fifties, these cars are priced at around 1.7 million but not everyone with that kind of money can buy one. You have to be invited by Maranello to be able to get on the list, and for that you should already have had solid Ferrari ownership credentials. Essentially, what this means is other than the engineers and test drivers involved in the development of this series, only the 500 odd lucky owners will get to drive these limited edition cars.
True to the Fifties racing barchetta design, the single Monza SP1 and dual-seat Monza SP2 don’t have a windscreen, promising the driver -- and the passenger in the SP2’s case -- a truly white-knuckle al fresco experience, considering its 0-100kph time is just 2.9 seconds! Based on the 812 Superfast, the Monza is powered by Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated V12 putting out 799bhp and 719Nm of torque.
While the cars are meant to be super exclusive when someone like former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg says a visit to the Ferrari Headquarters Museum in Maranello was high on his bucket list, Ferrari couldn’t miss the great opportunity there. Not only did they invite the champion driver who represented rival Mercedes team to the headquarters, they also put him on the driver’s seat of an SP1 and unleashed him on the Fiorano track.
Watch this video shared by Rosberg himself, wherein he gives a brief tour of the museum, drives an F8 Tributo on the mountain roads near the factory and finally, the Monza SP1 around Fiorano. In case you want to jump straight to the SP1 action, skip to the 6min 30sec mark.
