The Italian word barchetta translates to “little boat,” a description often applied to small, lightweight, open-air sports cars like the 1948 Ferrari 166MM. In 1993, Germany’s Michalak Design paid homage to the early Ferrari barchettas with a sleek two-seat roadster concept called the Conciso, which it hoped to put into small-scale production. Just one example was built, however, and on May 12 the Michalak Conciso crosses the block in Monte Carlo, part of RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale.

The Conciso wasn’t Bernd Michalak’s first attempt at building a modern interpretation of the barchetta theme. In 1989, the designer crafted a 1:1 model of a strikingly similar car called the Cilindro, unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show and shown again at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1990. Even earlier Michalak designs, such as the limited-production Corsaspider, a compact two-seater with a folding hardtop, and the Topino, a roof-less Opel Corsa with a matching trailer, showed his passion for open-air motoring and nimble vehicles.

Even for a Ferrari, the Conciso was ahead of its time.