After last year’s successful debut of the Veloce12 at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, legacy Italian coachbuilder Touring Superleggera already delivered 5 customer units so far in the first half of 2025. Now, one year later, the Veloce12’s droptop sibling arrives to capture more hearts and minds of fans who adore the updated take on the classic Ferrari 550 Maranello. Ahead of the public debut, I visited with the car and Touring’s CEO, Markus Tellenbach, to learn more about what goes into transforming a quintessential Prancing Pony into a thoroughly modernized convertible.
If anything, the Veloce12 “Barchetta” only enhances the refined restomod job that made the hardtop so eye-catching. Tellenbach compared the original coupe to a “tuxedo on wheels” but likens the new al fresco version to “an Hermes bag on wheels.” The Barchetta nomenclature, meanwhile, harks back to a (potentially apocryphal) story he told me about the Ferrari 166’s origins back in 1948. Apparently, Enzo Ferrari himself trusted Touring to design and build the 166, and at the Turin Motor Show that year, someone described the shape’s wide waterline and hull-like curves as reminding them of a small boat. Hence, “Barchetta” in Italian which directly translates to “little boat” in English.
The stitched upholstery draped with rich leathers plays along with the Hermes aesthetic, with hints of a nautical theme, too. Similar details from the Veloce12 carry over, including the gated six-speed manual transmission and textural metal switchgear, though in this case finished in an enigmatic rose gold that my eyes never quite adjusted to on a misty Monterey afternoon. Such weather doesn’t quite do the Barchetta justice, though.
“Following the success of the Veloce12,” Tellenbach laughed, “We were inclined and encouraged to try a variation that embraces the sun and that embraces the open skies, that’s the perfect companion for a joy ride through Tuscany.”
Converting the 550 Maranello into a modern droptop required re-engineering the rear of the passenger compartment to both enhance rigidity and safety. In performance terms, the Veloce12 Barchetta’s stats on paper only improve upon the base 550 Maranello’s 5.5-liter V12 ever so slightly, with a gain of about 30 horsepower, mostly coming thanks to freer-flowing intake and exhaust that results in a rated output of 503 horsepower.
Almost more importantly, that exhaust can open up its valving and transform from a more restrained and classy tone in the standard setting to a barking mad screamer. Tellenbach only winked a few times while revving the engine in the quiet Monterey neighborhood, admonishing that unleashing the full roar is definitely “up to the driver’s discretion.”
Other subtle differences stand out under closer comparison with the original Veloce12. The new headlight lenses help to reduce the number of insects caught while driving at higher speeds, while the functional hood intake improves cooling to the engine bay via venting at the windshield cowl. And the gas cap features an imprint of the hood scoop’s design, in a nice echo of form that perfectly encapsulates the Touring restomod ethos.
“We love the Marnello and we respect the Marnello,” Tellenbach concluded. “We feel it’s a great car of the ’90s; however, expectations today are for more contemporary performance, to make best use of modern materials, and what allowed the designers to create the flowing lines on the body was not possible in the ’90s due to production technology.”
The car I visited already features the final body molds—which, of note, can come in full exposed carbon-fiber in addition to the satin bronzed grey of the show car. Touring plans to build just 15 Barchettas, with the first five customer deliveries taking place before Christmas of this year.
Images Source: Michael Van Runkle
