To mark the occasion of its platinum anniversary in 2017, Ferrari selected a symbolic livery from each of its 70 years and applied them to the five production models—488 GTB and Spider variants, California T, GTC4Lusso, and F12berlinetta—in the contemporary range. This total run of 350 special edition examples marked the celebration of a deeply rich marque history, plus the opportunity for Maranello to demonstrate the abilities of its Tailor Made personalisation programme.

The 19th of these commemorative liveries was known as “The Shah”, which paid tribute to the 1956 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Series II Coupé bodied by Pinin Farina. That specific car was particularly notable for its two-tone silver and burgundy hue paint scheme. It was originally bought by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as a gift for his wife, Princess Soraya, with the pair reportedly having made the trip to Italy to visit the factory to personally configure their 400 Superamerica.

As an homage to that special machine, this left-hand-drive 488 GTB is presented with a Pure Metal Silver exterior, while the roof is finished in Rubino Micalizzato. The interior comprises Vaumol Burgundy Connolly leather over grey Alcantara carpets. That heritage specification then marries with the 488’s award-winning 3.9-litre, turbocharged, dry-sump, V-8. The engine sending 661 brake horsepower to the rear wheels via a rapid-shifting seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission, the GTB launched to 60 mph in just three seconds, while the speedometer could keep climbing to a 205 mph top speed.

With only 70 examples of the “70th Anniversary” 488 GTBs produced worldwide, these cars were only available to VIP clients of the marque. Unlike many others, this example has remained with its first owner since leaving the factory, was delivered new in European specification, and is accompanied by its Certificate of Conformity. Sparingly driven since, the odometer displays a remarkable 317 kilometres at the time of cataloguing.

The elegant livery created for “The Shah” models beautiful suits the design of the 488 GTB. Given this example’s low mileage in addition to the exclusivity of all 70th Anniversary Ferrari models, this car would make for a significant entry into any collection.