The unique supercar was built for Edward Walson, the American son of John Walson, who is the inventor of cable TV. His inspiration for the car came from a 1968 Federico Fellini film, “Toby Dammit” inspired by an Edgar Allan Poe story, which contained a unique Ferrari built by Carrozzeria Fantuzzi specifically for the film.

The body panels on the P540 have been redesigned from the donor 599 GTB, but the power plant engine remains the same 6.0-litre 611bhp V12. The P540 weighs just 20kg more than the donor car achieved by the extensive use of carbon-fibre, hence performance is unaffected by its conversion to a convertible.

It took Ferrari 14 months to produce the P540 Superfast Aperta from design to testing, and the car was delivered to Walson in Fiorano last week.

“I had always dreamed of designing sports cars,” Edward Walson explains, “and when I saw this film the decision came of its own accord: one day I would have ‘my’ Ferrari.”