Ferrari Builds a One-Off Berlinetta Boxer Homage—the “458BB”—for Eric Clapton

Captured last night by U.K.-based photographer Michael P. Sannwald at H.R. Owen Ferrari Showroom in London, the car you see here, which is clearly channeling the spirit of a 1970s Berlinetta Boxer, is said to be based on a 458 Italia. Sannwald says the staff confirmed that it is Eric Clapton's car, and referred to it as the 458BB. He also says that the staff reports it took 18 months to design and build, and that it cost the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer a reputed $4.75 million. Clapton's lifelong love of 12-cylinder Ferraris is no secret: He's owned several of them over the years, and the inner sleeve of his 1977 release Slowhand famously features a photograph of his post-crash Boxer. More recently, in an interview published on Ferrari.com, Clapton said: "I love the sound of Ferraris and I, as a musician, can confirm that these engines deliver proper music. I have to say that my weak point is the 12-cylinders' music." Whether this BB-inspired retro sled has a 12-pot residing under the instantly recognizable, matte-black "carb covers" is unknown. Regardless of the number of cylinders, though, the Clapton car's two-tone paint scheme, horizontal hood slats, flying buttresses behind the occupants, and the carb covers­ are direct throwbacks to '70s-era Berlinetta Boxers. The word among Ferraristi is that Clapton wanted a 12-cylinder engine fitted, but the required engineering and certification proved to be too costly. Adding fuel to the engine debate, however, are photos that include the car's number plate, which reads "SP12 EPC."  If one assumes "EPC" stands for Eric Patrick Clapton, then it's not a stretch to hypothesize that "SP12" hints at the cylinder count. A few headline-grabbing Ferrari-based one-offs have surfaced in recent years. There are the reasonably well-known Glickenhaus cars—the Enzo-based Pininfarina Ferrari P4/5 and its racing twin, the P4/5 Competizione, which rides on 430 Scuderia mechanicals—and the reborn Lancia Stratos. (Although Ferrari isn't really a fan of the latter.) Cars resulting directly from either Ferrari's own Portfolio Program—or from a Ferrari/Pininfarina collaboration dubbed Special Projects—include the F430-based SP1, the Superamerica 45, and the P540 Superfast Aperta. From which officially sanctioned program the Clapton car emerged is unconfirmed, although the number plate might provide a clue there, too. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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