Eric Clapton commissions custom Ferrari 458

Ferrari has reportedly crafted a custom 458 (pictured) for guitarist Eric Clapton. Photo Credit: Art Bromage/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY

Wealthy people can afford to get all kinds of things that the rest of us can only dream about. For instance, Ferrari recently made a custom 458 for none other than rock icon Eric Clapton, and the car has been getting a lot of attention.

Maranello does custom work

A company like Ferrari makes its road cars to-order. If a person is going to spend more than $200,000 on a car, that person had better be able to get the precise color of seats desired.

However, occasionally Ferrari will make a one-off, completely custom car. For instance, Ferrari presented a black FXX to Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher when he retired from racing several years ago after years on the Ferrari team. It is the only one in that color, and only 30 FXXs were built.

Ferrari started offering a complete custom service to customers in 2008, according to AutoBlog, and anyone who can afford it can order a completely custom car, from soup to lug nuts. A recent custom job by a famous client is getting a lot of attention.

It looks wonderful tonight

Photos and rumors have been flying around for some time, according to Car and Driver, of a custom Ferrari 458 commissioned by musical legend Eric Clapton, who is known for having a passion for Ferraris, especially those equipped with 12-cylinder engines.

The custom car has, among other modifications, two black panels running the length of the engine cover, which on the 458 is the rear of the car. The panels are an homage to the Ferrari Boxer Berlinetta, which was released in the 1970s. It had a V-12 mounted in the middle and was the first mid-engined car Ferrari produced. Clapton wrecked his and the picture of the crash wound up in the album art on his album “Slowhand.”

[A Boxer Berlinetta would certainly be a great used car buy]

While my Prius gently weeps

According to AutoBlog, it’s the third-ever project for Ferrari’s Special Project Division and bears the license plate number SP12 EPC. It is supposedly an acronym, for “Special Projects V-12” and “Eric Patrick Clapton.”

However, the V-12, according to Car and Driver, was not able to fit in the 458 without re-engineering the car at too great a cost to justify, so he’ll have to be content with the V-8 the 458 comes with instead. That must be disappointing, but anyone who can afford the $4.75 million that it cost, according to Jalopnik, probably won’t be too put out. The standard 458 Italia is 95 percent cheaper.