Our very own Ferrari

Just how difficult can it be to spec a supercar to perfection? Matt Saunders finds out by stepping into the loafers of a Ferrari buyer and bringing the ultimate SF90 Spider to life

- Matt Saunders

It’s 9.10 on an otherwise very normal Thursday morning in November, except that I’m about to order a brand-new Ferrari. Well, I’ve recently turned 40, so you know how these things go.

As if. Sadly, the car is not for this undervalued motoring journalist (accessories by Argos and Specsavers; overdraft is model’s own). Even so, just getting a flavour of the showroom process through which customers are led when deciding exactly how their six-figure supercars should look, feel and operate should be a fascinating exercise.

This all stemmed from a short conversation with Ferrari’s UK PR man, among whose responsibilities it is to fully dress to impress as many as six press demonstrators per year and who was a little ambivalent at the prospect of doing it all again for the SF90 Spider he expects in May. “Perhaps you would like to do it?” he wondered. Sure, thought I – feeling somewhat obliged in light of the number of times I’ve made suggestions in print about how one of his cars ought to have been equipped.

Which is what has brought us to Greypaul Ferrari in Solihull, near Birmingham, and a meeting with sales executive Richard Thompson. I’m feeling confident, having spent a quality hour or so on Ferrari’s excellent online model configurator and already settled on a combination of exterior paint, interior hides, alloy wheels, brake calipers and other items that I like.