This spring, Ferrari announced the completion of a new one-off ‘Special Projects’ model; previous entries in the rarefied catalog include the SP38, the P80/C, and the Omologata. The latest creation was commissioned for a client who is, according to the company’s press release on the subject, a ‘long-standing’ dues-paying member of the guild of the Prancing Horse, the car, called the SP48 Unica, owes much to recent Ferrari regular production models — it packs the same engine as the F8 Tributo — but for various reasons is very much its own animal.

One reason why the car is unique: it has no rear screen. But this two-seat Berlinetta also breaks from the Tributo in its aero design, with airflow that enters through the intakes on the front bumper and exits beneath the rear spoiler, an intercooler intake behind the side windows, and a longer rear overhang for improved downforce. Redesigned headlights help give the SP48 Unica’s nose achieve its harpoon-like appearance.

The design of the intakes, and the grille as well, was helped along by 3D prototyping and modelling techniques which, Ferrari explains, employed both procedural and parametric methodologies. That’s a lot to unpack, but it appears that the modelling used for the car’s design calls on both recent Ferrari design history and the desired framework of the model. But you’ll have to talk that over with the Ferrari Special Projects design team the next time you’re in Maranello.