Ferrari has filed a patent for a new targa top-style supercar, hinting at a return to an iconic body style that swaps the folding roof of a convertible for removeable panels.
The documents, uncovered by AutoGuide and filed with the European Patent Office, predictably reveal little else, other than that Ferrari is clearly working on a car with a “coupe body with a rigid roof that is removable and is supported at the front by the upright of the windshield and at the rear by a full-width roll bar”.
From here out, then, it's rumour. They range from a new mid-engined V8 model that could replace the current 488 - which would be the first mass-market targa Ferrari since the 355 Targa ceased production 20 years ago - to the patent acting as little more than a design exercise that might find its way into limited-run models, like we saw with the LaFerrari Aperta or the 575 Superamerica.
Either way, things are afoot at Maranello. For now, we do know that, according to the application, "the object of the present invention is to provide a car with a "Targa Top" body... that is also easy and inexpensive to manufacture".
Is a Ferrari Targa just the right side of retro? Tell us in the comments below.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold.
But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul.
And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard.
When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House.
But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others.
More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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