As seemingly every manufacturer under the sun makes the move to electrification, with the likes of Lamborghini Revuelto and Corvette E-Ray heralding an increasingly electric era, we were not expecting Ferrari to buck the trend. After all, many prancing horses have already adopted some form of hybridisation, with both the stunning 296 GTB and monstrous SF90 using hybridised drivetrains. That made the unveiling of the Daytona SP3 — the third hypercar in Ferrari’s Icona series — something of a shock back in 2021. In fact, some of us at Classic Driver took a “we’ll see it when we believe it” attitude towards the achingly beautiful, naturally aspirated V12 poster car.
Well, now that we have these gorgeous shots by Kevin van Campenhout to pour over, we can confirm that, thankfully, it isn’t too good to be true. Brought to us by the good folks at Drive Vintage, this is one of just 599 Daytona SP3s. If you thought the lack of an electric motor to assist that V12 might hamper this prancing horse’s performance, think again, because the Daytona SP3 houses the most powerful naturally aspirated Ferrari engine ever. Similar to the unit found in the 812 Competizione, the SP3 makes a whopping 828 bhp, rocketing this all-carbon beauty to 60mph in just 2.85 seconds and on to a top speed of 211mph.
We can already hear the critics cry “A Tesla Model S is faster to 60” but listening to the SP3’s symphonic 9,500 rpm wail is an experience that transcends mere spec sheet shootouts. And then there’s the otherworldly bodywork, which looks even better in this example’s Rosso Magma 4-layer paint. The Blu Elettrico alcantara interior is nothing short of spectacular either, while the Tailor-made historical livery adds that extra level of flash, not that the SP3 needed it. Here’s the less good news: this SP3 isn’t for sale, but on the bright side, Drive Vintage have plenty of equally tasty collector cars to occupy your dreams, including a 2018 Ford GT, so head on over to their page and see if something catches your eye!
