With Steve Wakefield out of the office, living it up at Pebble Beach, the coast is clear for me to do a bit of surfing round our Cars for Sale database. Since this sort of automotive drooling can see the hours fly by unnoticed, under normal circumstances it runs the risk of disapproving editorial breathing-over-the-shoulder.

This week, with the world anticipating the Monterey unveiling of the new Ferrari 599 Spider, thoughts turn naturally prancing-horsewards – particularly the topless variety. Has it really been five years since the launch of the 575 Superamerica? While rummaging through the examples in our database, I came across a black, RHD example from 2006, with just 12,300 miles and a full Ferrari service history – for a touch under £120,000. That might be more than I have in the piggy bank but, were I a little more pecunious, “That would do me” (as the Ed is so fond of saying).

Of course, you might prefer to wait for a brand-spanking-new 599 Spider. We'll be bringing you details on that, fresh from Pebble Beach – where, I'm reliably informed, it's been raining.

Charis Whitcombe Associate Editor cw@classicdriver.com

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