Unveiled to great fanfare and celebration from the tifosi, the 550 Maranello marked a return to Ferrari’s glory days. Bringing back the classical grand tourer formula of a two-seater, front-engined V-12, the 550 Maranello offered world-beating performance in a highly usable package. Its 5.5-liter engine produced 478 horsepower, propelling the car to 62 mph from a standstill in 4.4 seconds, and onwards to a top speed of 199 mph. Penned by Pininfarina, its classical style and effortless performance hearkened back to the great Ferrari GT cars of the 1950s and 1960s, returning Ferrari to its roots in advance of the 21st century. Utilizing engineering derived from the early days of the Michael Schumacher-era Formula 1 program, the 550 Maranello has widely been recognized as one of the best-engineered roadgoing coupes of this era.

This example was delivered new to first owner David Hoff of Dallas, Texas via Ferrari of Dallas on 15 September 1998. Built for the 1999 model year, it was finished in Blu Tour de France over a Sabbia leather interior, a very rare and striking color combination. The car remained with the first owner in Texas for nearly the first seven years of its life, before being sold to its second enthusiast owner in Lincoln, Massachusetts in 2005.

In 2007 the car was sold to its third owner in Wellesley, Massachusetts before being acquired by its most recent custodian in Merrimack, New Hampshire just before Christmas in 2009. Service receipts on file from the Ferrari specialists at The Boston Sports Car Company show that it was regularly looked after by them from 2006–2010, before it moved with the most recent owner to New Hampshire, where it remained for over a decade. In 20223, the car completed a service at Gran Touring Classics including new belts, replacement of all “sticky” buttons, and fresh tires.

With naturally aspirated 12-cylinder Ferraris—especially those equipped with a manual gearbox—sure to become a thing of the past with advancing technology and increasingly stringent environmental regulations, it is no surprise that models like the 550 Maranello are seeing heightened levels of interest in the market. Bridging the gap between older, more analog Ferraris like the 365 GTB/4 Daytona and contemporary offerings like the 812 Superfast, the 550 Maranello offers analog thrills in a platform that is modern and practical enough to be used on a regular basis with ease.

Now nearly a quarter-century old, these cars are truly wonderful cars to drive and enjoy and seem destined to become a mainstay of the “youngtimer” market in the years to come. Well-kept, low-milage examples are becoming more difficult to find, and this example, presented in rare and tasteful colors, should not be overlooked.