Features

Four words came down the phone line first, direct from New York City to the Pininfarina studios in Turin. They were uttered with great emotion by James Glickenhaus, owner of the car you see on these pages, and, though completely uncomplicated, they summed up the magic of the Ferrari P4/5 perfectly: "It's great to drive."

Hallelujah! Mr Glickenhaus's new Ferrari won't be put on a plinth for the rest of its life. It won't be locked into an hermetically sealed, climate-controlled box, only to be wheeled out by a team of fussy, soft-gloved minders for the occasional show. It will be taken onto the road and given a damned good thrashing, as any Ferrari should.

"Driving is what it's for," says James. "Sure it'll get dirty, but you clean it up, service it and drive it again. If it sits in a museum it doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned." How excellent.

Who cares if this Ferrari cost £2,400,000? (That's approximate, by the way, the actual price is a secret, but sources say it isn't far from the mark.) And who cares whether or not it belongs in a museum? (It does, really - this one-off supercar is probably priceless already).

It's a Ferrari. A fast one. It should be driven. And James, who's put 15,000 miles on his Lola T70, to name but one of the many cars he owns, will do just that.

"It's great to drive". James had his first drive only a few days before this exclusive Top Gear photoshoot took place. Apparently, when he first saw it, properly finished, in the metal, in this very studio, after 14 months of development, his reaction was awed silence.

Minutes of it. Judging by the rapid-fire telephone conversation I had with him - full of energy, knowledge and about 7,000 words of raw enthusiasm - silence is a profound reaction. It's the only way you can react when you first see it. You're just stunned into a sudden, jaw-dropping silence.

This car was created by a group of extremely talented people. Let's introduce the P4/5 cast. All of them - other than James, who was on the wrong side of the Atlantic - dropped by during our photoshoot and spent a generous amount of time with us, which tells you everything about how proud they are of this machine.

First, designer Jason Castriota. A young Italian-American who grew up in the Bronx, Jason has been drawing red supercars since he was three. Now look what he's done.

"It has a jet-fighter aesthetic," says Jason. "Hyper-technical cut lines contrast with sensual body curves - the teardrop windscreen and tight fenders give it a real Le Mans sucker-car look.