SPHFerrari
06-24-2004, 08:30 PM
does the 550 have a stock hardtop? i didnt think so. and if it does is this the stock one, cuz its realy cool. does anyone have info on this top?
Egg Nog
06-24-2004, 08:59 PM
All the informations you could possible want is here: http://www.barchetta.cc/All.Ferraris/550-barchetta-hardtop/
Don't give me credit for this article. It's by Barchetta.cc... sorry that the copy/paste didn't go to well, but at least you can still read it.
The owners of the 448 examples of Ferrari�s last limited edition model, the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, are
probably used to fulfil their wishes and desires whenever they want � as they did with the purchase of this
super-exclusive sports car. But there had been one �option� which was unobtainable although there had been a
big demand for it: a hardtop.
The 550 Barchetta Pininfarina is topless driving at its best. But as soon as the weather or other circumstances
force the driver to use the small softtop which is standard on the Barchetta, the joy of this extraordinary motorcar
suffers. Despite of the fact that the standard softtop is simply ugly because it has to cover the two roll-bars as
well and hence sports a rather bulky roof line, its usability is very limited: Ferrari guarantees its functionality only
up to a speed of 120 km/h (about 75 mph) � a speed level which is not really the level at which this kind of car
usually �lives�. The conclusion had since been that this softtop was definitely designed for the use in an
�emergency weather change� only and that the 550 Bachetta Pininfarina is actually meant to be driven topless
only. But not all of the 448 examples are located in the South of Spain or Southern California where precipitation
only exists in fairy tales. So there are many owners in central Europe and elsewhere who developed the desire
for a hardtop that would provide an immense addition to the 550 Barchetta�s all-day usability.
One of them was Helmut Nossek of Munich/Germany. Being the owner of 550 Barchetta Pininfarina #007/448
(s/n 123679), he had decided very early for himself that he would like to equip his example with a fully functional
hardtop. Talking with fellow 550 Barchetta owners, it turned out that Mr. Nossek wasn�t the only one interested in
a hardtop, and so the idea was born to make the planned hardtop available to anyone. An ambitious program
was started to design and produce a top which provides both weather-independent usability and stylish looks.
The renowned faculty for �Transportation Design� at the advanced technical college of Pforzheim/Germany was
entrusted with the development of the hardtop.