Ferrari 550 Barchetta revealed

FERRARI has released the first images of its stunning 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, which will be the star of its stand at this month's Paris motor show.

Around 200 examples of the car are expected to be built, of which 17 are destined for our shores.

But you can put away that chequebook because the entire production run - including the Australia-bound cars - is already spoken for.

Ferrari Australia national sales and marketing manager Mr Ray Michelsons says local deliveries of the Barchetta - or "little boat" - are expected to start in April.

Stocks of the stunning roadster will arrive in lots of two or three for the remainder of the year.

Mr Michelsons says the Barchetta will command a premium of around 20 per cent over the 550 Maranello hardtop, which suggests a starting price in the vicinity of $580,000.

Based on the 550 Maranello, the newcomer features a cut-down windscreen and no roof. It comes with twin rollover hoops and a basic cover designed to get drivers home at limited speed in bad weather.

The car is being built to celebrate the 70th anniversary of legendary Italian design house Pininfarina, which has been associated with Ferrari since 1952.

Collector's status is guaranteed as each car will be numbered and bear the signature of Sergio Pininfarina.

The Barchetta also gains unique split-rim alloys, a new aluminium filler cap and 550 badges on the wheel arches.

Inside it features new leather and carbon-fibre seats that can be fitted with four-point racing harnesses for track use.

The instrument binnacle and central drive tunnel are trimmed in black Lorica, a suede-like fabric. Customers can specify any interior or exterior colour scheme they wish.

Mechanically, the Barchetta is essentially unchanged from its hardtop sibling.

Lurking under the bonnet is a 5.5-litre V12 engine that cranks out an eye-watering 357kW at 8250rpm and 568Nm at 6000rpm.

These outputs are enough to propel the car from standstill to 100km/h in under five seconds, on its way to a top speed around 320km/h.

Ferrari is on track to record around 68 Australian sales this year, compared with 61 in 1999 and 64 the previous year. The 360 Modena currently accounts for the bulk of sales.