This year, Ferrari is celebrating 30 years of doing business in the Middle East. That means it created a collection of one-off cars for the occasion. They’re specially-finished Ferrari 296 GTBs, and they’re certainly as pretty as any other Ferrari, but what might be the most interesting aspects of them, are the accessories that go with them.
Ferrari 296 GTB
- Engine
- 3.0L Twin-Turbo V6 Plug-in Hybrid
- Horsepower
- 819 hp
- Base MSRP
- $338,255
A Car For Each Country
But we do need to go over the cars first. Each is a 296 GTB, and nothing has been changed mechanically. They all have the standard bodywork and the standard twin-turbo V-6 plug-in hybrid powertrain. Naturally, that’s no bad thing, what with a massive 819 combined horsepower and 546 lb-ft of torque. Plus that V-6, which is nearly flat, is mounted ultra-low in the chassis, and in the middle, helping make it an all-around excellent sports car.
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What Ferrari focused on, instead of increasing performance, was adding special touches to the exterior and interior. All six cars represent different countries in the Middle East market: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. They’re primarily distinguished by each having a custom exterior color, and occasionally either oddly vague or overly flowery descriptions (and sometimes both) for the reasoning behind each.
Inspired By The Local Landscapes And Cultures
The United Arab Emirates car is painted white, harking to the country’s pearl diving industry. The Saudi Arabia car is green, apparently for the country’s oases. The Kuwait car is brown for its “natural landscapes.” The Qatar car is dark red for the “strength, pride, and enduring spirit of its people.” The Bahrain car is black for the “mystery and allure of its nightscape.” Finally, the Oman car is blue for “the enchanting beauty of its seas and coastline.”
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Tying all the cars together are the interiors and unique exterior trim. On the outside, each car features a custom color called Arabian Golden Sheen, a matte gold metallic representing “the reflection of sunlight on desert sands.” The color appears on the roof and wheels. That general color scheme continues to the cars’ interiors, which feature beige and gold leather throughout. The embroidery is also gold, and so is the plate for the gear selector. In what’s apparently a first for the model, the front trunk is finished in leather.
Clutches, But Not Those Clutches
With this all out of the way, we can get to the unusual part of these cars: the clutches. Well, not in the automotive sense. What we’re talking about are little purses. For whatever reason, Ferrari felt like creating these little fashion accessories to match each of these exclusive 296 GTBs.
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Each one was manufactured at the Ferrari factory, and they feature the exact same paint as the cars. Ferrari didn’t say if it recommended typical washing, clay barring, and waxing or sealing like the car. Besides the paint, the interiors of the cases have a beige ultrasuede liner, and they come with removable gold-finished chains for carrying.
No pricing for the cars was given, nor availability. We would bet that, being such exclusive vehicles, Ferrari either sold them or had buyers lined up before revealing them.
