You probably can't guard the net like Shaqille O'Neal, and you likely wouldn't fit in his shoes. But as today's custom Ferrari proves, baby you can drive Shaq's car.
The little crawled up the waterspouts of a full 62% of you yesterday, garnering it a solid Nice Price win. That was despite a lively discussion on the merits of replica cars, as well as some of the douchiest wheels we've seen here in a long time.
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The Beck, as well as its Porsche 550 progenitor, sit on a diminutive 83-inch wheelbase. At his full height, the original owner of today's would not even fit between the axles of that Spyder. Shaquille O'Neal - all 7'-1" of him - needed a car that he could spread out in, and hence he commissioned a be built.
The major change made to this ice-blue grand tourer is the adoption of a smoked-glass removable roof panel, allowing easy egress without fear of bumping Shaq's NBA Championship head. As his legs also need additional room to roam, the driver's seat track has been extended, and the rear seats have been removed to allow for that, and the stereo upgrade's sub-woofer box. Remember, Shaq was a rap artist for a while there.
Mechanically, the car remains stock, including the 436-bhp four-cam 12 and the four-speed automatic gearbox. The 456 was the last Ferrari to use a single cylinder's displacement as the model designation, and hence this car's V12 clocks in at a full 5,474-cc (yes, they rounded up). Those of you immediately hitting door number two at the mention of there being only two pedals down there for Shaq to stab at with his massive, meaty feet should be aware that even with the auto box, this car's 188-mph top speed made it the world's fastest production four-seater for a while there. It should also be noted that the 456 is a grand tourer not a sports car, and the auto is well matched to the torquey V12.
The interior befits that GT moniker with swathes of leather covering damn near everything save the instrument needles. As you can imagine, Shaq's 325-lbs can put some serious hurt on anything he plants his ass into, and while the remainder of the interior appears unmarred, the driver's seat shows the affect of one kind of Shaq Attack.
It's been a long while since O'Neal owned this Ferrari (five owners worth apparently), and his proclivity has leaned instead towards these days. But that doesn't mean that his mark hasn't been left on this 17,000 mile Italian- and not just in the driver's seat. The removable roof on this car makes it one of a kind, allowing its potential owner to join the in the custom 456 club. That alone should make the car of interest beyond its natural Ferrari-ness, and while hacking Ferrari's finest usually is looked upon with disgust rather than envy, the 456, being one of the marque's more innocuous offerings, tempers the outrage over the modifications. That being said, this 456 has been mouldering on the mark-down table for a while now.
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It's usually enough just to be able to park a car with the Prancing Horse on its hood in your driveway, but here you'd get that, plus the ability to tout that this was a car that Shaq himself used to drive and fart in! And if you're really, really tall, you'll probably appreciate all the additional legroom the modifications afford. Despite those mods, and the provenance, at $38,777, it's priced at less than many other 456s out there are tracking right now. That's also less than the $67K that was asked for it back in '06.
So, does that $38,777 for this Shaq-mobile Ferrari 456 - a one of a kind targa edition - sound to you like nothing but net? Or, does that price make this Ferrari a foul?
You decide!
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