REVIEW: Looksmart Ferrari Monza SP1 • DiecastSociety.com

REVIEW: Looksmart Ferrari Monza SP1

At first glance, one would say the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 are one-off concept cars from Ferrari. Well, they are in essence, but in actual fact, they are truly production examples of the limited variety, less than 500 examples will go into production.  This new series of production vehicles are called “Icona”, a program envisioned by Ferrari to highlight special, limited edition production cars that give tribute to classic Ferraris of the past.

Released in 2018/2019 the Monza SP1 and SP2 taps into Ferrari’s history, and as any Ferrari fan will note the history is vast and littered with gems.  Both the SP1 and SP2 were inspired by the Ferrari 750 Monza, 250 Testarossa and 166 MM.  The single-seater is definitely race-inspired!

The model here is crafted by the team at Looksmart.  The scale is 1:18 and the exterior is completed Rosso Magma – there are alternative colours available that help capture the historical theme.  If you’re interested in the SP1 it is available for immediate delivery through their Looksmart, your brick and mortar store or online dealer.

The exterior of the SP1, in the words of Ferrari, “it is sculpted by the wind”, one would agree.  The design and shape are truly beautiful and inspiring.  As for Looksmart’s take on the scale replica, we give them excellent marks on the overall exterior execution.  First off this is a resin and sealed replica.  Looksmart’s attention to deal is solid from a design perspective.  Panel gap lines are nicely defined and clean throughout.  The carbon fibre elements are great too and mirror the original design well.

All intakes, opening found front, side and rear, all are completed with photo-etched and perforated metal.  Fit and finish are exceptional!  Iconic Ferrari decals positioned on either side of the front section definitely pop against the Rosso Magma paint.  Speaking of paint, workmanship here is flawless and consistent throughout.

The front of the Monza SP1 is simplistic and beautiful.  Looksmart again does an awesome job on the fit and finish, as mentioned earlier the centre grille is completed in metal and the two smaller openings on the lower section follow suit.  Solid carbon fibre detailing and 3D like Ferrari emblem complete the package.

No access to the motor is available, so showing off the V12, a variant of the one used on the 812 Superfast is no go.  Also, the storage area offered by the cover found on the second seat is completely sealed as well.

The rear is on par with the rest of the model.  Excellent attention to detail with the Ferrari logo and rear emblem.  Lower differ/bumper is tactfully executed in carbon fibre.  Fabulous work in defining the dual exhaust tips and surrounding perforated covers.  Lastly, the union of the rear red taillight assembly in the body seam is spotless.

The Monza SP1 wheels are the largest ever fitted on a production Ferrari to date, they are defined as 21 inches.  As for execution the Silver paint and design are terrific.  Inside the massive carbon/ceramic rotors as well as Black calipers are on par.  The entire package is authentic, to say the least.

Moving to the inside interior workings the quality remains on par with the exterior.  The single buttress behinds the driver’s head is definitely that of race-inspired.  The cockpit is carefully detailed with exceptional use of colours and textures.  Fun fact, the SP1 has no windshield, the genius at Ferrari have developed a dual aerodynamics system with the front section (just in front of the steering wheel) that pulsing air over the driver’s head. One can actually operate the car without a proper helmet.  We like to see someone try this with the V12 at wide-open throttle!

The Ferrari Monza SP1 comes highly recommended.  This model consistently pushed the bar at all levels of what we consider a quality and sound model.  We aren’t a Ferrari authority but this example is near perfect in our opinion – what it lacks is the ability of full 360 access.  But altas that is another story…   Excellent paint, true overall design, mesh grilles (in all the right areas), and solid interior make it very desirable.  Add the uniqueness factor and toss in the Ferrari badge and we have a winner.

Some may not gravitate to the styling and that’s okay.  Others may say it is priced too high.  Our argument, it is definitely more refined than your typical $150-$200 resin piece, and a cheaper alternative to the BBR rendition of the same.  Also, the model comes shipped in an attractive package if you value that sort of thing; leather base and plasic dust cover is included in the base price.  Enjoy the pics!

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6 Responses to "REVIEW: Looksmart Ferrari Monza SP1"

  1. Atalante says:

    This one is a fantastic model. I have the SP2 from BBR in Rosso Portofino (a deep metallic red) and I have to admit that the Looksmart seem very close in term of fit and finish. That’s a good deal !

  2. Michael says:

    Few things about this car. First of all Ferrari has never stated that it was inspired by anything else, but the 750 Monza. Hence the name which pays homage to this particular model. This was demonstrated by the display at the Ferrari museum in Modena, this past summer where both cars were displayed. My kids really loved the Monza SP1. There was also a video about the creation and some pretty girls, informed well enough to answer any questions.

    [img]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/922/bsiwiW.jpg[/img]

    But my little one really liked the original better.

    [img]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/921/zhGgpr.jpg[/img]

    The design of the SP1 has nothing to do with 166 and Ferrari has never claimed such thing. Same goes for the TR.

    [img]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/922/mRnm34.jpg[/img]

    The car presented to the press was grey with yellow stripe, which BBR have faithfully represented and I have their model in my collection. The car at the Modena museum was Rosso Magma, which is a very cool tri-coat shifting red metallic with gold undertones. BBR has made that model also in stunningly accurate paint representation. I have that model in my collection also, because I wanted to have both the historically significant press release car and the one we saw in person in Modena.

    [img]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/924/6izxUY.jpg[/img]

    The pictures here are of Rosso Corsa Monza SP1, a.k.a. Pain old Ferrari red and not the Rosso Magma. Also the tail light are definitely NOT spot on as the original did not have red tail lights. They are clear, or “silver” as accurately represented by the BBR models and fudged up by Looksmart.

    [img]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/800x600q90/924/2UjB3G.jpg[/img]

    At the end of day the Looksmart model is a good alternative to the BBR model, but considering the BBR is still available from their store for $327 and being more accurate, that’s the way I would go.

    • DS Team says:

      Thanks for the feedback. As for what historical cars influenced the SP1, the statement was generalization in regards to both. Maybe we could have provided a definition for each car.

      “Both the SP1 and SP2 were inspired by the Ferrari 750 Monza, 250 Testarossa and 166 MM. The single-seater is definitely race-inspired!”

      As for taillight, there was some back and forth amongst the team, but in the end, we gave Looksmart the benefit of dought, As the image here and other images we reviewed showed.

      As for the colour, we disagree. It is very accurate IOO. Excuse our photos as the black background does influence the final colour in the photos. And during processing, we take seconds to edit while others with take hours to arrange final images. So we’ll take the blame for the colour accuracy within the photo library.

      • Michael says:

        You know, there is a magazine called Model Cars. It is mainly about plastic kits, but in every issue there is usually a little review on the last pages about the occasional die-cast news. That magazine, just as the other plastic kit mag – Scale Auto, issues a special edition every year, called Contest Annual, which is basically a photo gallery of major model contests from around the world. Mostly US (it’s a US magazine after all), but Germany, South Africa, Finland etc.. Greg, who started the magazine some 20 years ago, had some major health issues, so the magazine skipped few issues, which made a lot of subscribers unhappy, to say the least. So, the latest issue just came out in the last week or too, as a Contest Annual. People were not very happy, because on top of being about a year late, it has pictures from 2017, poor editing and some low quality pictures, which are way too dark. Supposedly it was a printing issue. But regardless, Greg, who has 23 titanium nails in his spine after 18 surgeries on his back, who has gone above and beyond keeping his magazine alive at a great personal cost, came out on the magazine’s forum and said: “You are right guys, the pictures are awful.” He owned the flunkup and apologized for it, even tho most anyone else I know would have told people to pound sand, because it is a pure miracle, there is anything at all even printed. Which is why I continue buying his magazine since its inception, like many others and have nothing but respect for that man.

        There is no way in a million years, after any editing that the model on your pictures is Rosso Magma. I saw the real Rosso Magma on the real SP1. And I am staring at a model of a Rosso Magma SP1. And I took pictures of a Rosso magma, which I edited. I have taken countless pictures of models, especially Ferraris and I know what Rosso Corsa looks like under any light and after any editing.

        There is only one SP1 Monza with red/tinted taillights. The one on your picture. In other words of the non functional preproduction prototype. Which was shown privately in Maranello before the car was even announced and from where pictures were leaked, Including the very photo you are posting here. The very same car was also shown in January at “Concept Cars and Automotive Design” exhibition in Paris.

        At the private showing in Maranello, the car was displayed sharing a room with a 750 Monza. Not a mention of other influences of design, inspirations etc.. it would be just not a smart business approach, because how are they gonna sell the next concept if they wanna milk the Testa Rossa name?

        I just don’t understand, why is it so hard to just say “thank you for the info” and admit a mistake. I would love to contribute to the forum and I don’t need any recognition or reimbursement. I don’t know Jack about Porsches or BMWs and I am not going to pretend I do, so I can not help on a topic about them. But next time you want to write a piece on a Ferrari model, contact me and I will help you with it with whatever I can, so you don’t have to suck some stories out of your fingertips.

        I have no idea why I am having problems with posting pictures on this section, but I’ll try again. This is what Rosso Magma Looks like. The only way to make that shine pure white (like it is on a single coat Rosso Corsa) Is to play with the saturation and contrast so much, that the rest of the car will never look red.

        [img]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/800x600q90/924/sx9wcv.jpg[/img]

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