The one-off 'Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina' was one of last year's most sensational new arrivals on the rather crowded supercar scene and a huge draw with the public wherever it went, and it's Goodwood Festival of Speed debut over the weekend was to be no different a proposition. Whether it was lurking in the canvas covered shadows of the Sunday Times Super Paddock, burbling along the track access roads, or racing up the 'Hill' it was always the focus of a battery of camera lenses.

Commissioned from the famous Italian design house by American Ferrari collector Jim Glickenhaus, who was at Goodwood over the weekend along with Salvatore Barone, who looks after his impressive car collection, and Pininfarina engineer Paolo Barone, the Ferrari P4/5, is based around the Enzo floorpan and mechanicals and seeks to draw design inspiration from the historic Ferrari 330 P4. No expense was spared during the project and no compromise considered; the result is a truly unique supercar which is officially recognised by Ferrari.

The P4/5 made its world debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California last August before being shipped over to France the very next month where it took pride of place on the Pininfarina stand at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile. Since then it has made several high-profile appearances around Europe as Jim firmly believes in using each car in his collection on a daily basis.

Italiaspeed last caught up with Jim and the P4/5 in the glorious surroundings of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este back in April, and in the intervening period since he and the car have both had a busy schedule, it now has 4,000 miles on the clock, the high point being taking part in the XIX Giro d' Sicilia Targa Florio (3-11 June). At Goodwood the P4/5 was still carrying its Targa number decals (#118). "The Targa was amazing," says Jim, "we did 800 miles, it has 900 turns and the original Targa course was unbelievable.
 

"But it's also magnificent to drive a modern car," he continues, "you sit there, the air conditioning is keeping you cool, you're listening to the 'Good, Bad and the Ugly' soundtrack on your iPod, what's not to like?" The Sicilian roads are notorious for their poor conditions but the the P4/5 easily coped with the difficult surfaces and ran faultlessly, "We did nothing, we didn't even add a quart of oil in it," says Jim, "we did literally nothing, and we ran some really hard miles on it."

However, before the week-long Targa appearance the P4/5 had a very important appointment to keep on the way down to Southern Italian island. "After Villa d'Este we drove down to Maranello, had lunch with Jean Todt, we had a wonderful time, and it was great to take it to the people in the factory who loved it." Created at Pininfarina's facility in Turin, this was the first visit of the P4/5 to the fabled Maranello home of the 'Prancing Horse' brand.

The P4/5 is a truly distinctive supercar, its slippery lines a hit wherever it goes, and Jim is clearly satisfied with the way the project has turned out. "The thing about it is that when people see it is that it brings a smile to people's faces," he says, "The one thing that I think Pininfarina really accomplished is that while it does have a touch of the old days in it, it really does stand on its own, its not a replica P4. Sal spent months at Pininfarina as we got it right." Following a scheduled service post-Goodwood the P4/5 will be returning to the US where Jim expects to drive it on a more regular basis.