Ahead of the official launch next Thursday in Paris, Ferrari have released the first details of the 458 Speciale A. The 'A' is short for Aperta or Open and refers to the Spider configuration of this limited production, high performance machine. Powered by the same, 605 hp V8 engine as the Speciale coupe introduced last year, the 458 Speciale A will have a limited production run of 499 examples.
Much rarer still is the Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Nart Spyder of which just ten were built. The Nart acronym refers to the North American Racing Team, which was headed by Luigi Chinetti, who was also the one who commissioned the car. One grabbed headlines last year for selling for a staggering $27.5 million at auction but we have now learned that the example on display at Pebble Beach last month changed hands earlier this year for a reported $28 million. Both of these and two more are featured in our 70-shot gallery of this striking and hugely valuable Ferrari spyder.
Especially for the newly introduced 1.6-litre Formula 2 regulations of 1967, Lotus created the Type 48. In many respects a scaled down version of the manufacturer's Formula 1 and Indy cars, it was raced with some success by Team Lotus. A sad episode in this F2 racer's history is Jim Clark's fatal accident in one at Hockenheim in April of 1968. The featured example is a very rare survivor and was raced during the 1967 season by Jim Clark. We captured it during last year's tribute to Jim Clark at the Goodwood Revival.
One of the more unusual cars on display at Chantilly earlier this month was the Nomad Mk1 Ford. This was the first of three sports racers built by Bob Curl for Mark and Gabriel Konig. It was raced with some success during the 1967 season before it was superseded by the open Mk2.

Enjoy the links:

1967 - 1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Nart Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information

2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale A - Images, Specifications and Information

1967 - 1968 Lotus 48 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information

1968 Nomad Mk 1 Ford - Images, Specifications and Information