Floyd Mayweather is a stranger to no one. Thanks to an undefeated record of 49 – 0, Mayweather will always be remembered as one of the greatest professional boxers the world has ever seen. And with great status come great, great perks.
The latest perk in Floyd Mayweather’s life is the expenditure of just about $2.5 million on the first example of one of the most intriguing cars ever made. Dubbed kode57, the red-painted supercar with reverse-hinged scissor doors is the sweat and blood of acclaimed car and industrial designer Ken Okuyama.
Okuyama is a former asset of Pininfarina, the company that designs the body shells for the best name in the business for a living - Ferrari. The Japanese designer is the mastermind behind million-dollar projects such as the awe-inspiring Ferrari Enzo, as well as the overseer for cars such as the Ferrari P4/5, the 599, and the Maserati Quattroporte. Although unconfirmed by Okuyama, the kode57 is probably built on a Ferrari 599 GTB chassis.
This assumption comes from the displacement of the engine and the get-up-and-go available at the press of the loud pedal. Under the hood of this outlandish four-wheeled art form, you’ll find a freely aspirated 6.0-liter V12 with 611 horsepower and 448 lb-ft of torque, a.k.a 599 GTB figures.
The transmission is an electrohydraulic automated manual with six ratios, exactly the same setup as you’ll find in the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. Coincidence? I think not. But then again, the 599 is a perfect building block for this crazy contraption bestowed with an even crazier name.
Okuyama highlights that the engine and suspension “can be tuned to suit the owner's tastes thanks to a collaboration with German specialist Novitec Rosso.” If the tuning company can pull off the same stunt it did with the 599 GTB Fiorano, then the Novitec Race Bi-Compressor package can hike the V12’s output up to a mind-boggling 836 horsepower (848 PS).
These said, what do you make of the unearthly kode57?
Editor's note:
The 57 in kode57 (with a lowercase k) comes from 1957, the year in which “many legendary cars were born and motor racing gained a strong worldwide following.”
On that note, 1957 is also the year that gave us people like Steve Buscemi, Hans Zimmer, Steve Harvey, Bernie Mac, Ray Romano, Spike Lee, and Sid Vicious of Sex Pistols fame.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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