The Ferrari Monza is back – with 799bhp!

In the 1950s cars like the 750 Monza cleaned up in sportscar racing with four-cylinder engines, but the reborn barchetta ditches that idea for the 810PS (799bhp) front-mounted normally-aspirated V12 of the 812 Superfast on which this new limited edition special is based.

The result is an overdose of Maranello magic, a combination of looks and power that draws on a famous motorsport heritage in the most 21st century, carbon-fibre-clad way.

With a superior (533bhp/tonne) power-to-weight ratio to the 812’s, Ferrari says the new Monza blasts to 62mph in 2.9 seconds and on past 124mph in 7.9 seconds. Just be ready to pick the flies out of your teeth…

An absence of windscreen is just one aspect of 1950s-style motor racing minimalism that’s been reprised in this first of a new special series of cars from Maranello, inspired by great Ferrari sports racers of the past such as the 1954 750 Monza. Iconic? For sure, hence the new Icone name for a series of cars of which the Monza is the first.

There are actually two Monzas: the SP1 single-seater and the SP2 which has a seat for a passenger along with additional rollover hoop on the rear deck. The work of the Ferrari Design Centre, the pair of Monzas reference a design heritage from a time before spoilers and winglets. The small doors open upwards while the all-carbon-fibre one-piece bonnet and wing assembly is hinged at the front so you can get a good eyeful of the V12.

The unadorned lines of the simple barchetta bodywork and open cabins may be evocative but they are also as contemporary as any of today’s Ferraris under the carbon skin. A modern twist is the “virtual windshield” which is said to direct air flow away from the driver’s face.

The Monza SP1 and Monza SP2 are far more than one-offs. Ferrari says it will build as many as 500 of them as the first models in the Icone series. There’s no formal price announcement – think upwards of a million – and as ever Ferrari says it will be ensuring they go only to the brand’s “dedicated  clients and collectors”.

Other Icone models are sure to follow as Ferrari establishes it as one of four new model platforms. The others are Sports (cars like the 488GTB), Special (488 Pista and F12TdF) and GT, which will be home to cars like the Portofino and forthcoming new SUV-type vehicle due around 2022.

The reorganisation, in the wake of CEO Sergio Machionne’s death in July, promises 15 new Ferrari models, some with petrol/electric hybrid engines, over the next four years.