The Last Great Traveller from Maranello

Twelve cylinders, 515 hp and a bonnet that seems to arrive at the destination before the driver has even set off: the Ferrari 575M Maranello comes from an era when a grand tourer was simply allowed to be fast, elegant and gloriously unreasonable.

There was a time when Ferrari did not equip its cars with electric motors, touchscreens and an instruction manual thicker than the Rome telephone directory. Instead, it took a large V12, placed it beneath the longest possible bonnet and positioned two people behind it. The result was not a racing car with number plates, but a machine in which one could leave Vienna in the morning and arrive in Maranello in time for dinner.

The Ferrari 575M Maranello was one of the final representatives of this philosophy. The “M” stands for “Modificata”, which sounds considerably more exciting in Italian than “modified”. In reality, however, the 575M was far more than a mildly revised version of its predecessor. Its V12 grew to 5,748 cc and produced 379 kW, or 515 hp. That was a formidable figure in 2003 – and even today, it is hardly the automotive equivalent of chamomile tea.

The example offered here was originally delivered to Italy and, according to the information available, subsequently spent around 14 years in an Austrian collection. It is finished in silver with a red leather interior – a combination that suits the character of the 575M remarkably well: restrained and almost serious on the outside, yet as Italian inside as an opera upholstered in leather.

Silver is an interesting choice for a Ferrari. Red announces from three hundred metres away that its owner drives a Ferrari. Silver leaves the discovery to the observer. It accentuates the long bonnet, the rearward-set cabin and those classical grand-touring proportions that manage without wings, enormous air intakes or assorted pieces of aerodynamic kitchen equipment.

The real highlight, however, is found inside. This car is equipped with the rare Daytona seats. Their distinctive horizontally segmented leather design recalls the great Ferrari models of the 1960s and 1970s. The option was probably astonishingly expensive when the car was new. Today, that no longer matters, because these seats transform a luxurious cabin into a place from which one immediately wants to drive to the South of France.

The car is left-hand drive and, according to its vehicle data, is fitted with an automatic transmission. That suits the Maranello’s character. The 575M was not built to remind its driver on every journey just how exhausting motor racing can be. It was designed to cover great distances at high speed while making the entire exercise appear completely effortless.

Normally, pressing the accelerator allows the 5.7-litre V12 to take care of the entertainment. There are no turbochargers, no electric assistance and no artificial engine note played through loudspeakers. Instead, there are twelve genuine cylinders and enough power to turn the scenery beyond the side windows into an indistinct wash of colour.

In the case of this Ferrari, however, some restraint is required first. According to the available information, the car was last started approximately three years ago. It requires a new battery and a service. The 575M is therefore expressly offered as non-running and not immediately roadworthy.

Simply fitting a new battery and setting off at full speed towards the Adriatic would consequently be a rather poor idea. After several years of inactivity, a twelve-cylinder Ferrari is not a toaster that can simply be plugged back in and used. Before recommissioning, the car should undergo a comprehensive technical inspection by a qualified specialist.

No reliable current mileage is available either. The figure of 0 km recorded in the vehicle data must expressly not be understood as the car’s actual mileage. After all, it did not leave the Ferrari factory in 2003 only to spend the following 23 years parked beside a dehumidifier.

The car is accompanied by Italian registration documents, as well as an available and reviewed service history and invoices. The most recently stated service dates from around 2021. No separate condition report is available. While the documentation helps to establish the car’s history, the extended period of inactivity means that it cannot replace the necessary technical inspection.

This 575M is therefore not a Ferrari for someone who intends to buy it today and cross the Alps tomorrow. It is a project for a buyer who understands that great machinery requires proper attention after a long rest. In return, that buyer will acquire one of the most elegant Ferrari grand tourers of its generation, with Italian origins, many years in a collection and particularly desirable equipment.

Above all, this Ferrari belongs to a vanished era. Today, fast cars are expected to be economical, digital, connected and at least vaguely defensible in polite society. The 575M had no such obligations. Its entire existence was justified by a long bonnet, two seats and a 515 hp V12.

At present, this silver Maranello remains an exceptionally elegant sculpture with red leather and rare Daytona seats. Following a professional inspection and careful recommissioning, however, it could once again become exactly what it was built to be: one of the most stylish ways to travel very quickly over very long distances.