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The latest Ferrari sports car is a very limited edition model which continues the company’s seven-decade long history of manufacturing the World’s most exclusive ‘fuoriserie’. Named J50, the car is a two-seat, mid-engine roadster that marks a return to the targa body style evocative of several well-loved Ferrari road cars of the 1970s and 1980s. Destined solely to the Japanese market, the J50 to commemorate the 50th anniversary since the brand started to trade officially in Japan. The design was specially crafted by the Ferrari Design team in Maranello under the direction of Flavio Manzoni. While the car is based on the underpinnings of the current 488 Spider model, the body work is entirely new and bears no parts in common nor any resemblance with the 488: styling-wise the J50 heralds a radically futuristic language conferring it its own, highly distinct personality. The drama of the overall volume is best perceived from a slightly raised point of view.
Starting from the intention of giving full emphasis to the 3.9-litre, 670CV power unit, Flavio Manzoni and his team strived to provide the best possible view onto the engine despite its sunken position at the lowest point in the chassis. A wide transparent pane thus opens us towards the rear to invite inquisitive looks onto the mechanical heart of the car. That see-through polycarbonate piece is sensually shaped to connect with the two separate roll hoops protecting the heads of driver and passenger. A transversal foil bridges over the resulting central valley, effectively revisiting one of the most distinctive features of Ferrari Sports Prototypes of the 1960s, only with the most modern and lightweight of touches.
While the ‘helmet visor’ effect which spawns from the window graphic is reminiscent of open top competition roadsters going as far back as the 1950s, the black dividing line is a resolutely novel interpretation of a recurring Ferrari signature which here serves a double purpose in organizing several functions such as driving lights, side blinkers, door handles and the canal that feeds air to the intercoolers. Circling around the front of the car below knee height, it is a key element which alters the perception of the beltline, setting it at a much lower height than usual, transforming the J50 into an instant runabout.
The rear edge of that aerobridge then gently drops down, flanking the engine bay and expanding in width where it meets the rear spoiler on each side, proceeding to circle around the twin taillights to finally close what is a highly characteristic figure on the rear bumper, just above the license plate housing. In plan view, this contour line creates a truly iconic and original feature.
The rear is decidedly aggressive in nature, with the quad taillight design widening the car visually under a high downforce wing profile and the rear diffuser extracting air from the underfloor shaped as large trumpet cones inspired by jet engine afterburners, setting the car down with a powerful stance. Forged rims of unique design were crafted specifically for this limited-edition model.
The targa body style pays homage to models which made Ferrari successful in Japan, although the bulk normally associated with such solutions is here much reduced thanks to a twin roll bar design rather than a single transversal one. The carbon fibre hard top is divided in two pieces which stow conveniently behind the seats in vertical position – a definite blast to the past!
Inside the cabin, specific trim adorns the sports seats, echoing the design of the rear bonnet contour described above to provide a unmistakable signature.
The launch model presented in Tokyo is finished in a special shade of three-layer red with a red-over-black interior trimmed in fine leather and Alcantara. Just ten of these uncompromising roadsters (all left-hand drive and each tailored specifically to the customer’s taste) will be allocated to longtime Ferrari enthusiasts exclusively in Japan, in celebration of Ferrari’s 50-year presence in the Empire of the Rising Sun.