Hard not to love a Ferrari One-Off special. Sure, they require pockets like the Mariana Trench to access – and are as apt to be rubbish as they are spectacular – but they are surely the ultimate enthusiast fantasy project, a result of being let loose in Maranello’s pleasure dome like Charlie visiting the Chocolate factory. The latest – or the latest we’ve been granted permission to see, at any rate – is the Ferrari KC23, a ‘futuristic track car’ based on the 488 GT3 Evo platform. 

Now, when anyone says the word ‘futuristic’ in connection to car design, there is a tendency for the result to immediately date like a George Jetson saucer – but we’re going to go out on a limb and say the KC23 strikes a decent balance. This is good, because its homage to the venerable race car is a nice twist; Ferrari reckons that the GT3 has racked up more than 119 championships since 2016, making it the most successful racing Ferrari in history. 

Better still, this isn’t some toned-down version for pootling to the shops or between exhibits: the KC23 is designed ‘exclusively for non-competitive track use’ which means the homologation gloves could come off. Ferrari doesn’t reveal how much power has now been extracted from the mid-mounted twin-turbocharged V8, but you’d imagine it’s sufficient to give the standard GT3 a run for its money on circuit. 

Of course, it is also the KC23’s business to look fast when it’s not going anywhere. To that end, the Ferrari Styling Centre opted to take the car in two directions simultaneously, fitting a number of motorised air intakes that open automatically once the engine is switched on, but close when at a standstill to showcase ‘its clean, sleek, sinuous forms’. The fixed rear wing must need a spanner set to fit, yet it too is removable so the car can be admired when in the pitlane (or an air-conditioned garage). Ferrari even went to the trouble of designing two different wheel sets: 18-inch for circuits; 21-/22-inch split for static. 

Elsewhere, and despite retaining a stripped-out interior very much like its inspiration, it was a stipulation of the project that every single line of the GT3 must be redesigned, including the glass surfaces and light clusters. This meant adjusting the downforce and cooling to suit a completely different silhouette, and the KC23 gets La Ferrari-style butterfly doors that open on single front hinges. Like the colour? That’s Gold Mercury, the result of a specially-developed, four-layer aluminium paint which is said to change colour depending on where and how the light hits it. 

If you’re heading to Goodwood this week, you’ll be able to judge for yourself whether or not that actually happens because the car is due to make its first public appearance at the Festival of Speed, followed by a two-month stint at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. Presumably, the owner finally gets their mitts on it after that – marking the culmination of a three-year development process. All good things come to those who wait, eh?