When millions pose a threat to one’s pocket, a fast way to get rid of that terrible burden is to throw it out the window of a very expensive, limited-production car. Alternatively, to avoid being fined for littering, one such hypothetical heavily troubled millionaire can take said automobile and thrash it just because. Sometimes, when people can do something, it actually means they also should.
The Ferrari Daytona SP3 fits the bill from every angle: expensive? You bet! $3.8 million and above. Rare? Check and double-check, with 599 served to “qualifying” customers. In other words, the perfect machine for a donut session in rural England. Where else do horses - prancing or not - belong, if not in a field?
The recently-ended Heveningham Concours in the U.K. showcased some of the most spectacular automobiles available to the general public (if you can call obscenely rich people “general” or “public”). Since no respectable car show is complete without solid Italian attendance and participation, one Ferrari Daytona SP3 completely stole the show.
The manner is an eye-watering set of (mild) off-road antics, with donuts on the grass and stone-chips acceleration. In all fairness, the hypercar was used in a promotional video for the event (see it at the bottom of the story), but that doesn’t make things better or right.
Photo: Youtube/TFJJ
Then again, all’s fair in war and something else (I know for a fact the second wasn’t car addiction), and anyone willing to burn $4 million can afford to take the car back to Ferrari and have it repaired. After all, it’s not like the titanium connecting rods in the 6.5-liter V12 will come out crooked after this fun-and-games session.
Ferrari has built one of its most powerful all-combustion engines specifically for the Daytona SP3, but that doesn’t automatically make it off-road ready. With 830 hp (840 PS) on tap, the rear wheels can smoke the tires just as fast as they can push the car to 60 mph from a standstill (that’s 2.85 manufacturer-claimed seconds).
Ferrari has invested heaps of resources of all possible nature into developing the SP3, making extensive use of the company’s Formula One experience and technology. The ultimate goal of making the car as controllable and responsive as possible is summarized on the car’s official webpage: F1 DCT seven-speed gearbox (DCT is dual-clutch). Electronic Stability Control. ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution. F1-Trac (traction control), e-Diff 3.0, SCM-Frs – that’s magnetorheological suspension control - and SSC 6.1 side slip control.
Photo: Youtube/TFJJ
For a car with this many control tendencies, the SP3 acts rather wild on the grass in East England – although the driver doesn’t seem to push the Ferrari anywhere even close to its potential. Nonetheless, the result left onlookers with mixed feelings; for all intents and purposes, Ferrari does offer a better option for driving outside paved surfaces, and it is a bargain compared to the Daytona SP3. The Purosangue, the non-SUV Ferrari (the Italians pride themselves on not calling it a cross-over because they put the engine behind the front axle and the gearbox on the rear axle).
Then again, where’s the fun in seeing an average-price Ferrari with four doors, four-wheel drive, and off-road(ish) demeanor terrorizing field mice and blasting pebbles? The Daytona SP3 hypercar – ten times more expensive than the not-an-SUV Purosangue – is far more suitable for the donuts (or is it “go nuts?”) job.
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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