With Pininfarina poised to celebrate its 70th anniversary at the turn of the new millennium, the prestigious Italian design house unveiled its latest collaboration with Ferrari. The open-top 550 Barchetta Pininfarina was officially first shown to the public by respective company bosses Luca di Montezemolo and Sergio Pininfarina during the 2000 Paris Motor Show.

From a limited production of only 448 cars, the example offered here is numbered “438”. Even among that small pool, it is believed that a mere 42 were configured in right-hand drive. This car was completed with Rosso Corsa paintwork over Beige leather upholstery, while racing-style harnesses, carbon fibre seats, Scuderia shields set into the front wings, and red brake callipers sitting behind the two-piece split wheels complete the attractive specification.

Having rolled out of the Maranello factory gates, it was delivered new on 31 October 2002 in South Africa via Rosso Sport Auto of Johannesburg. It was then purchased in 2013 by the consigning owner, who entrusted maintenance over the following five years to Scuderia South Africa (formerly Viglietti Motors). With the vendor then relocating to the United Kingdom, the car was imported and registered for use on the road in England in June 2018.

Since its arrival in the UK, the Ferrari has been sparingly driven. During that time, it has been cared for by marque specialist DK Engineering. Work carried out included services in May 2019, December 2021, May 2023—also featuring replacement of the cambelt and auxiliary drive belts plus the fitment of four new Pirelli PZero tyres—and January 2025.

This 550 Barchetta Pininfarina is supplied with its Ferrari owner’s guide folio (signed by 1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter), Warranty Card, tool and tyre inflator kit, a pair of Barchetta helmets and their accompanying carry bags, plus Certificate of Origin. Also boasting just three keepers from new, it displayed 7,936 kilometres (approximately 4,881 miles) on its odometer at the time of cataloguing.

As a limited-edition, open-top Ferrari grand tourer powered by a naturally aspirated V-12 mated to six-speed gated manual transmission, the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina holds enormous appeal to enthusiast car collectors. This right-hand drive, three-owner, low-use example, specified in a beautiful colour combination, makes for a particularly compelling proposition.