So, another Monterey Car Week done, another collection of mega-money track cars shown off to the richest car nuts out there. It’s a fascinating phenomenon, the circuit-ready hypercar, lacking both competition and road eligibility, yet the appetite for them - typified by the sold-out McLaren Solus GT - continues largely unabated. And with the genre has come an even more intriguing sub-genre: the road conversion of a car designed with pit lane TLC in mind.
There have been McLaren GTRs made legal for the public highway, as well as Aston Vulcan. McLaren specialists Lanzante are getting a Zonda R fit for an MOT, too. In a hypercar world that prices uniqueness above all else, it’s perhaps little surprise to see owners go to such extraordinary lengths. Plus, well, it’s pretty cool, and that’s as good a reason as any to do it - imagine seeing a Vulcan on the A69.
Now there’s another one to add to the list, as this is the first-ever, road-converted Ferrari 488 Challenge. Plainly, this is a little different to the other examples, given this was a bonafide racer and the Ferrari Challenge runs across the globe, but the promise of those cars already mentioned - of a completely mad on-road experience - is absolutely here with the Ferrari as well.
Believe it or not, a few hardy souls have made Ferrari Challenge cars fit for the street before - there’s a 355 for sale here - although that was when the cars were more closely related to the road equivalent and not quite so outrageously capable. That 355 has a delicate, open-gated manual gearbox, analogue dials and a sweet little Sabelt wheel.
Compare that with this 488, a tangibly more serious (some might say silly) prospect as a road car with that unfathomable dashboard. In Evo form, the 488 is still being campaigned in Ferrari Challenge series from Sonoma to Suzuka, with the same 670hp as this car. Presumably, a 296- or F8-based replacement is due soon, but for now this is very closely related to Ferrari’s current Corse Clienti Challenge race car. And you can drive it to your Mum’s house.
Sadly, the advert for this 488 doesn’t feature much info on what’s actually been done to make it roadworthy, stating only that the work has been undertaken ‘by a professional race team’. But it has a V5 and an MOT, registered on August 1st having first been sold through a UK Ferrari main dealer in 2018. Apparently it’s only been used twice in four years (covering just 300 miles) which does seem a crying shame given the potential.
Now on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, with a handbrake nestled between bucket seat and rollcage and some DRLs up front, the Challenge is ready for almost any adventure. As the advert suggests, it that can be used - if you’re very committed - for ‘a quick trip down to the shops’ or - perhaps more likely - ‘joining friends on a car rally or maybe even turning up to your local race track and destroying the rest of the grid’. A Pista is already pretty epic as far as road-going Ferraris for circuit go, and this Challenge promises another level of intensity again. Which may not be ideal on the M1, but what a track weapon it should be. And as the very first of its kind, there’s no danger of seeing another. As far as we know.
The 488 is currently listed at POA; interestingly, a regular old track-only Challenge, without handbrake or hazard lights, is also on PH at £167,830, and most Pistas are about twice that. Given the work that’s presumably gone in, we’d expect it to be nearer the Pista price, or perhaps more given the unique status. Whatever it costs, the next owner is surely in for an unforgettable experience. And we’ve not even mentioned the best bit - the Gulf livery is just a wrap, and can come off. Phew.
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