Ferrari UK boss Stuart Robinson believes the new 360 Spider will account for half its sales. He said the coupe had taken two-thirds of the company's orders.

“It has created a problem because the UK waiting list is 30 months which is too long,” he said. “At some dealerships, it is three years.”

F360 production at Maranello will account for 2,500 of Ferrari's total output of 3,700 cars. Mr Robinson believed the aluminium F360 Spider (on sale in the UK in September) would shift the bias even further next year.

He predicted that UK Maserati sales would increase from 220 in 1999 to “somewhere in excess of 300”. The launch of the new Maserati Spider in 2001, followed by a new 4dr saloon, meant UK sales were expected to grow to 1,000 within six to seven years.