The internet loves a controversy. The online commentariat will no doubt have plenty more to say about the new Ferrari Luce, even though no one outside of the company will get to drive the car for many months. It also feels facile to qualify the design as ‘controversial’ when the vast majority of naysayers haven’t seen the Luce in the metal.

Wallpaper* has. At the launch event in Rome, Marc Newson, and his colleagues Jeremy Bataillou and Christopher Wilson, talked through the genesis of the car, designed with Jony Ive and the rest of the LoveFrom team, while chief tester Raffaele de Simone gave his impressions of what it will be like to drive.

‘We were trying to get our heads around how to solve the challenges of five seats and four doors – challenges we’d not only expect but which we’d look forward to trying to solve,’ says Newson. ‘Pretty early on, we came up with the idea of the glass house or passenger cell – an element that encapsulates the interior. That in turn enabled us to separate – at least intellectually – the body of the car.’

Describing the glazed upper body and the aluminium-panelled bodywork as ‘two design elements that work in unison’, Newson walks us around the way the two interact. ‘You have the passenger cell that sits within the body of the car, expressed obviously through colour but also with a physical gap from the body,’ he explains. ‘The cell is a smooth, aerodynamic object that starts right at the very front of the car and extends seamlessly all the way to the back.’ As for the impact of optional colours and trim over and above the curated and colour-matched launch quintet, Newson is philosophical. ‘It’s quite controlled – the options are prescriptive,’ he says, ‘it’s not a free for all.’

The bodywork doubles as the primary aero form, from the big front wing, ‘where you’d normally have a bonnet, to the wing at the back doing the same thing, but with a smaller gap’. Subtle aerodynamic details abound, like the hidden knurling underneath the ‘bonnet’ wing to break up the airflow over the windscreen into many individual channels, reducing wind noise.

The benefits of Ferrari’s bespoke electric platform are plain to see on the interior. ‘The amount of interior space we’ve eked out of this platform is really impressive – it’s a bit like a Tardis,’ Newson says. According to Newson, the rear-opening door creates the best sense of distinction between inside and out, creating a portal that you step through to the spacious interior. A completely flat floor enables three across at the rear, and the electrically reclinable rear seats are also mounted slightly higher than the front.

‘We really wanted to touch on everything, to make sure everything felt in sync, right down to the user interface,’ Newson concludes. The ‘key ceremony’, wherein the e-ink faced rectangular key sinks into the glass centre console to activate the car, is just one of many ultra-focused details.

We especially like the way the controls indicate the current cabin temperature to help guide you to the right setting. Every spin of the (real) needles on the digital dials and embedded clock/chronometer is paired with an equally satisfying on-screen animation; nothing flashy or distracting, just pure graphical simplicity.

Behind the wheel

All this painstaking work was undertaken closely with the dedicated team of engineers and drivers at Ferrari, led by Raffaele de Simone. In a demonstration that’s somewhat akin to having a Michelin-starred chef describe a dish rather than let you taste it, de Simone attempted to convey the way in which the Luce’s performance upends tradition.

‘In the past, if you wanted more performance you had to reduce comfort and space. More comfort, and you had less performance. In the Luce, this relationship has been redrawn,’ he enthuses. De Simone attempts to describe how the complex approach to throttle mapping and power delivery doesn’t dump maximum power the millisecond you depress the accelerator. He implies that Ferrari test drivers – let alone ‘regular’ Ferrari customers – simply aren’t ready for these levels of torque.

Instead, the power is sliced, albeit not in way that is nostalgically linked to the revs of an engine. Then there’s the noise – amplified in the cabin in performance mode and projected out via front and rear speakers. ‘The sound helps the driver manage the car,’ de Simone says. ‘We didn’t want a fake nostalgic sound… there’s no reference to other Ferraris.’

Challenged as to whether or not the traction control can be completely disengaged (someone, somewhere, always thinks they know better), the test driver shrugged and said no. ‘It would be like having a horse in a bathroom full of glasses,’ he said in thickly accented Italian, a vivid mental picture indeed. ‘We give you the tools to go around a roundabout until the tyres die,’ he adds.

Will the future Luce ownership cadre be seeking this kind of experience or simply want a Ferrari badge, regardless of the better ergonomics, less inconvenience and the – much overlooked – ability to turn up somewhere without announcing your arrival with a fanfare of largely unwanted noise?

As previously noted, this is luxury motoring without the traditional signifiers – not brave, just different, and perfectly on brand for a company born of innovation and individuality.

Ferrari Luce, $550,000 / £438,406 + delivery, Ferrari.com, @Ferrari

We’re just a few days away from one of the most iconic luxury brands on the planet taking a bold step into the unknown. The full unveiling of the Ferrari Luce – only the interior control surfaces and seats have been revealed at time of writing – will truly set the cat amongst the pigeons as the progenitor of the luxury sports car sector ventures into pure electric propulsion for the very first time.

When even the unveiling of the Luce’s dashboard – usually not a subject to trigger controversy and provocation – spawned endless amounts of comment and opinion, it became clear that the combination of electrification and deviation from a pre-conceived norm could not fail to be anything but rage bait.

Wallpaper* can confidently predict the rage-bait churn will get another hearty stir – not because of any aesthetic shortcomings, but because sports cars have been sucked into the culture wars. We’re pretty sure that wasn’t Ferrari’s intention when it signed up LoveFrom and its car-mad directors, Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson, to steward the aesthetic of Ferrari’s first EV, working closely with Maranello’s engineering team to create the ultimate expression of luxury electric mobility.

You might well ask why a car maker going electric is even remotely controversial in 2026. To answer that, one must strap in to experience a perfect storm of misplaced idealism, a layer of wishy-washy governance, a vociferous fandom who have become vocal gatekeepers, and the endless but near mythical search for the true soul of a machine.

Thirty years ago, the latter Grail Quest would have been considered fully done and dusted, with the glorious mechanical symphony that is the V12 engine placed upon a pedestal in the eternal temple and henceforth worshipped forevermore.

To the fury of the temple gatekeepers, that’s not what happened. The inconvenient truth of mobility’s fossil fuel addiction was no longer possible to ignore, except to the most steadfast denialists and exceptionalists. Unfortunately, it’s this contingent who rule the roost in the small but high-profile world of luxury sports automotive.

So what’s the true status of electrified performance? One of the side effects of electrification has been that hitherto unattainable levels of performance are now handed on a plate to drivers of ‘everyday’ machinery; in its most powerful form, the humble Volvo EX30 will hit 62mph in 3.6 seconds. That’s quicker than the limited production 1995 Ferrari F50, now comfortably commanding upwards of £3.5m.

In divorcing the thrill of out-and-out performance from the exclusivity of extortionate prices, the luxury performance market is having to push the boundaries of design, materiality and technology to retain its edge. The new inclusivity of electrification effectively divorces the emotive qualities of performance. And perhaps more than any other carmaker, Ferrari once considered itself the be-all and end-all of emotional machinery.

That’s why the Luce is not a two-seater, but a grand tourer, perhaps the last bastion of romance on four-wheels. But even this sanctified typology – with its evocation of great journeys, open roads and a life of leisure – hasn’t quite cracked the apparently tainted image of electric luxury.

Will the Luce change this? It’ll certainly help shift the dial. This year also sees the release of Jaguar’s new Type 01, the production iteration of the car revealed as the no-less controversial Type 00 Concept. The first all-electric Bentley is also on the way, previewed by the EXP 15 Concept last year, while Rolls-Royce has been quietly operating in this electric realm for several years, first with the Spectre and more recently with the coachbuilt Project Nightingale.

So are all these companies doubling down on an unchangeable course they might conceivably come to regret? That’s certainly the takeaway from the more performance-focused slice of the luxury market. Porsche, Maserati and Lotus have all performed screeching U-turns on their pure EV strategies.

Maserati scrapped a near-completed electric variant of the MC20 supercar, while Porsche has delayed its Boxster replacement, despite engineering a fully electric variant, in order to accommodate ICE power as well – not on the original spec sheet. Meanwhile, Lotus has just announced the Type 135, a hybridised V8 supercar that’s a world away from the electric-only Evija hypercar and Theory 1 concept, reversing plans to make the brand electric only.

Meanwhile, Lamborghini, McLaren and Aston Martin are blocking their ears and pretending their customers have a perfect right to carry on polluting and they have a perfect right to carry on allowing them to do so. The reason? There’s no demand for EVs amongst buyers who favour V8s and V12s, the pop of unburnt fuel crackling in the exhaust pipe and the roar of mechanical combustion.

Despite technical agreements (McLaren with Nio, Aston Martin with Lucid and Lamborghini as part of the VW Group), the fruits of these labours are still shrouded in their respective design studios, waiting for positive customer clinics and enthusiasm from dealers. The 2023 Lamborghini Lanzador concept now looks like a dead end.

Like so many manufacturing and technology sectors, the luxury car industry is in danger of being left behind by China. Right now, the only thing the country doesn’t have is the lustre and leverage of a heritage automotive brand. Otherwise, Chinese EVs are attaining new levels of luxury and performance. The extraordinary 300mph Yangwang U9 Xtreme (parented by BYD) is just a foretaste of what’s to come. The country’s fleet of luxury EV GTs is even stronger, from the Xpeng P7+ to the Zeekr 001 FR and Ferrari-aping Denza Z9 GT.

So is the customer always right, or can they be swayed by new brands without the accumulated centuries of heritage that still shapes our understanding and perception of cars? Companies might cry that ‘our customers don't want an EV!’ but the viability of ICE is increasingly running counter to social norms. No one would welcome fumes in a smoke-free space just because the smoker could afford a pricey cigar. So why would an expensive but outlandishly noisy exhaust be a socially acceptable thing to inflict on a city?

Perhaps it’s the beginning of the end for the traditional supercar and hypercar, their unfeasible abilities hamstrung by social norms and legal restrictions. Genuine enthusiasts know that power isn’t everything, let alone price, and that the best driving thrills don’t necessarily even need speed. A beautifully balanced small sports car will always triumph over a bloated, oversized performance machine.

There are signs that EVs are starting to head in this direction. Consider the return of the ‘hot hatchback’, once a mainstay of affordable ICE performance, now reborn for the electric era. There’s a veritable stable of smallish, sporty electric cars either here or on the way, from the Alpine A290 to the Hyundai Ioniq 5N, as well as the Vauxhall Corsa GSE, Peugeot e-208 GTi, Cupra Raval VZ, and the Volkswagen Polo GTI, even the supercar-baiting Renault 5 Turbo 3E. These run the gamut from affordable to outrageous, but all pack a dynamic punch that more than matches up to ICE equivalents. Zero emissions, more space, less sound and more reliability are all added bonuses.

Those with more patience might want to hold out for the Caterham Project V, due to be revealed in 2027 (when there might also be an electrified successor to the Audi TT to talk about), while fellow small manufacturer Morgan has also dabbled in electric concepts (including the riotous XP-1) and could still be a contender in this defiantly niche market.

The pressure on the traditional sports car is technological, cultural and economic, threatening to squeeze this once highly desirable form factor into obsolescence, afforded only by a tiny coterie of confused collectors unsure as to what they’re even signifying. As it stands, China has almost all the cards when comes to the premium electrified GT (despite Porsche and Audi’s valiant resistance). Will Ferrari’s top-tier competitors respond to the boldness of the Luce, or will they simply wait and see how it all pans out?

Lest we forget, the very first EV of the modern era, the Tesla Roadster, was a sports car (engineered by Lotus, no less). It was a simpler machine from a simpler age but still retains some charm. Nearly 20 years later, a true successor is nowhere to be found. Whoever can convincingly splice electrification with true driver engagement could still come up with a winner.

The world of competitive sailing is a literal cutting edge, with new hull and hydrofoil designs scything through the water with the minimal possible drag, hauled at speeds of over 30 knots with high-tech mast configurations. Alongside aerospace, the yachting industry helped pioneer the use of carbon fibre at scale, as well as the disciplines of finding the ultimate path through aerodynamics, fluid dynamics with strength and lightness.

Last week, Ferrari Hypersail showcased the new livery for its 100ft flying ocean monohull. The design of this elite racing vessel has involved a collaboration between Flavio Manzoni’s Ferrari Design Studio, the company’s legendary engineering team and Guillaume Verdier Naval Architects, specialists in racing monohull and multihull competition prototypes.

For an engineer, the monohull class has an unmatched alignment between the purity of function and form. As Ferrari notes, ‘performance sets the rules, design transforms them into beauty’. In shaping the boat and its livery, Manzoni and his team have drawn on contemporary performance Ferraris, with a silhouette influenced by the Ferrari Monza SP1/SP2 and graphical architecture that evokes the Le Mans-winning Hypercar 499P.

This blend of bold graphical style, colour and technically efficient surfacing has been especially evident in modern era Ferraris, with contemporary cars like the Testarossa and F80 introducing a more technical approach to surfacing and body composition.

According to Manzoni, ‘Hypersail represented an unexpected opportunity for the Ferrari Design Studio; a challenging objective due to its complexity, which allowed us to extend our creative research into a context different from our usual one.’ With components like walkable solar panels integrated into the deck and hull, orientated according to the maximum solar exposure, every facet of the vessel is a fusion of engineering, design and function.

‘The Design Studio is not new to this kind of endeavour,’ says Manzoni. ‘In the past, the experience gained in racing car projects, one of the most technologically advanced sectors, has encouraged exploration into more complex fields, allowing us to test ourselves and expand our expertise.’

The livery is a key expression of the heart and soul of Hypersail. Resplendent in Giallo Fly yellow, the so-called ‘second soul’ colour in Ferrari’s palette after the iconic red, the colour dates back to the 275 GTB of 1964. Company lore holds that it was ‘inspired by an intuition from Fiamma Breschi’, the widow of yellow-helmeted Ferrari F1 driver Luigi Musso, who died in an accident at the 1958 French Grand Prix in Reims. Through her friendship with Enzo Ferrari, Breschi brought this bold yellow into the Ferrari mythos.

The addition of ‘Fly’ references the Hypersail’s foiling capability, with the hull lifting itself above the water at speed and resting on slender carbon fibre foil arms for minimal drag. Giallo Fly is paired with a new grey, Grigio Hypersail, which evokes the strength and solidity of the cabon fibre.

Naturally, there’s also a substantial Ferrari logo rendered vertically on the sail, above a dynamic racing stripe and the all-important sponsor names.

‘Hypersail is a vessel unique in scale and technology, engineered to deliver peak performance within an environment as singular and unpredictable as the ocean,’ says Matteo Lanzavecchia, head of vehicle engineering at Ferrari and chief technology officer of Hypersail. ‘Foiling is made possible by a sophisticated control system [which] leverages the expertise gained from our automotive developments, and is powered by energy recovered from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and motion.’

Ferrari Hypersail made its debut during Milan Design Week 2026 at the Ferrari Flagship Store in Milan, alongside an installation by the Ferrari Design Studio overlooking Piazza del Duomo.

Ferrari Flagship Store, Milan, Store.Ferrari.com, Ferrari.com, @FerrariHypersail

As sure as night follows day, a droptop Ferrari has emerged to pair with its coupé sibling. This is the new Ferrari Amalfi Spider, which joins the line-up alongside the Ferrari Amalfi coupé. The Amalfi Spider replaces the superb Roma Spider as the pinnacle of Ferrari’s more lifestyle-orientated grand tourer model. It’s a car to enjoy, not necessarily at speed, with more emphasis on style and glamour than out-and-out performance.

From Roma to Amalfi (which in itself sounds like the start of a fine trip), the process has been iterative rather than revolutionary. That said, the Roma was a very good place to start and the Amalfi has only improved on the looks and capabilities of the convertible. Admittedly, the rear seats are only good for dumping your overnight bags (hence its description as a ‘2+ Spider’ and not a ‘2+2’), which helps, as, with the roof down, luggage space shrinks to only 172 litres.

This is still a red-blooded, old-fashioned combustion-powered Ferrari, representing the apex of the company’s decades of knowledge and accumulated wisdom. The front mid-mounted twin-turbo V8 puts out 640hp as well as that all-important (to many) noise, ramped up for the occupants thanks to the absence of a roof (as well as any non-consenting passers-by).

With the roof up, the Amalfi Spider makes a very stab at preserving the flowing lines of the coupé. Open it (in just 13.5 seconds) and the five-layer insulated hood is stowed tidily beneath the rear tonneau cover. The compact roof mechanism leaves space for a three-position rear spoiler and there’s also an integrated wind deflector (which makes the rear ‘seats’ even more unusable) to keep buffeting down to a minimum.

The Flavio Manzoni-helmed design is undeniably beautiful, more classically elegant and restrained than the company’s current mid-engined line-up. Inside, the cabin draws very little influence from the upcoming Luce, save for a revival of the anodised aluminium start button. The Ferrari still flaunts style over function, with two-tone trim options that serve amplify its innately outgoing character. Even the hood is available in four different fabric colours (as well as two ‘technical’ fabric options).

The dual cockpit design, completed with passenger-facing screen, is an evolution of that found in the Roma, but the sensation of having two independent cockpits has been heightened still further. The passenger can get a full run-down on how fast and dynamically they’re being driven, with the inclusion of a G-meter and other key stats.

The promised 3.3 second sprint to 62mph will doubtless be a sonorous experience, and any attempts at the 198mph top speed (in a suitable location, of course) will require the hood to be snugly raised.

Ferrari Amalfi Spider, from c£220,000, Ferrari.com, @Ferrari

Fans of Phil Collins, Ray-Ban Wayfarers and Hawaiian shirts are in for a treat: another new Miami Vice movie is in development. Helmed by Joseph Kosinski, (Top Gun: Maverick, F1: The Movie) and slated for the summer of 2027, it’s understood that Austin Butler and Michael B Jordan are in talks to play Crockett and Tubbs. That’s an inspired bit of casting, but the actors were never the stars of Miami Vice. It was the cars that had marquee billing. Were I a Hollywood producer rebooting this seminal 1980s TV classic, I’d be on the phone right now to the Ferrari 849 Testarossa’s agent.

The new Ferrari 849 Testarossa is the 2026 reboot of the car I had on my duvet cover back when Jan Hammer’s theme came out of the speakers of my parents’ faux-wooden television. The show’s white Ferrari Testarossa was unspeakably glamorous. It was the definition of 1980s excess rendered in aluminium and steel.

The cheese-grater side-strakes, the silver star wheels. A generation of kids stared at its black-grilled derrière for hours playing Out Run at the arcades. Miami Vice’s Don Johnson and its original show-runner, Michael Mann, both owned Testarossas. So did Rod Stewart, Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson and MC Hammer. The Testarossa was a bigger celebrity than them all.

In fact, the Testarossa’s lineage goes back much further than the 1980s. It was first applied to the ultra-rare Ferrari 500 TR in 1956. The achingly pretty 250 Testa Rossa followed in 1957. Testarossa, Testa Rossa, TR, they all point to the same thing: the scarlet cam covers atop their feisty full-throated engines.

‘Testarossa’ is the Italian for ‘redhead’. So while it may refer to painted alloy parts, what you’re actually picturing is Isla Fisher or Domhnall Gleeson. That, in a nutshell, is what supercars are all about. Take something really technical and compromised and turn it into a pin-up.

Now, having been retired for 35 years, the name is back. As you can see, the 849 Testarossa isn’t a nostalgia trip. Not a cheese-grater in sight and, alas, no pop-up headlights. The spirit of attention-seeking is alive and well, but everything about this car is rooted in the future.

The car was designed by Flavio Manzoni’s team before being named, so the moniker is really just marketing. Manzoni has had a few flops, but for the most part, he’s done a brilliant job in exploiting the DNA of Ferrari without rooting around in the retro parts bin – something brands that need to reach for the Viagra might do. The message is, Ferrari is still virile.

Many mourn the loss of Pininfarina. It drew some very pretty cars – including all of the past masters mentioned – but its partnership with Ferrari ended in 2013 and everything was brought in-house. The reason for that was that aerodynamics and cooling have become so central to engineering that the clothing could no longer be outsourced.

In the battle between style and performance, performance won out. The Roma and its successor, the £200,000 Amalfi, have soft beauty, but above that, the Ferrari range is much more visually aggressive than it was in the 20th century.

The 849 Testarossa (from £407,617) tops Maranello’s production model range, though it sits below the £3.1 million limited-production F80 hypercar with which it shares some facial characteristics, namely the black bonnet band. This Zorro mask disguises the headlights; Manzoni’s take on the 1984 model’s iconic pop-up lamps.

The rear haunches have hints of another seven-figure modern Fezza the SP3 Daytona. The twin-tail winglets at the back have echoes of the marque’s 1970s Le Mans-smashing 512 sports prototypes, which is really this car’s only retro nod, and is more directly linked to the much more recent and extreme FXX-K – a track-only machine that deliberately sounds like it’s banned from pre-watershed broadcast.

Elsewhere are details never seen before. The deeply scalloped doors required a new forming process to make, and act as a chute to feed the intercooler with air. Those intakes are highlighted by a vertical black element that looks like a No.1 and divides the visual volume.

The design has a Lego quality. I had my reservations when I first saw renderings, but in the flesh, I’m won over. Certainly, it’s the most extroverted cavallino we’ve seen in years. It’s so brash you might confuse it with a Lamborghini. The 849’s immediate predecessor, the SF90, was quite nerdy and inelegant. Contrastingly, its replacement is a jock in catwalk couture.

Inside, it’s less lairy but retains a strong sense of occasion. Body-coloured Alcantara keeps the inside bright, if you order it in blue, white, yellow or red. A curved loop runs from the dashboard down to the central armrest, which delineates the driver and passenger zones and gives it an airy architectural quality.

The transmission selection pad, rendered in brushed aluminium with three levers, apes the famous manual H-gate, which Ferrari discontinued in 2014.

On the steering wheel, there’s a big red starter button, the patented Manettino dial that scrolls through the different traction modes, and other real buttons as opposed to haptic surfaces. Ferrari has seen the light and acknowledged that customers want their Ferraris to be more analogue and less iPhone. The SF90 was infuriating when you wanted to do something as simple as change the radio station. However, the forthcoming Ive and Newson-designed Ferrari Luce’s interior suggests the prancing horse is still willing to make concessions when it comes to catering for Silicon Valley’s superrich high-performance yummy mummies.

Under the skin, the 849’s got the same skeleton as the SF90, but the chassis, brakes and V8-hybrid powertrain have been substantially reworked. It now has the biggest turbochargers ever fitted to a Ferrari, as well as the biggest V8. Together with its three electric motors, overall thrust has risen 49bhp to a breathtaking 1,036bhp. Eight hundred and 19 of that comes from its internal combustion heart.

The ride, grip and feel engage every sinew. The 1980s Testarossa (known internally as the F110) never actually drove particularly well. If you went too fast into a corner and lifted off the throttle mid-turn, your white linen suit trousers would require urgent dry cleaning. And it certainly wasn’t quick by today’s standards – a new Range Rover would eat it for breakfast.

The 2026 Testarossa is, however, ferociously fast: 0-60mph takes under 2.3 seconds and the car doesn’t let up till the needle passes 205. It has a bewilderingly complex suspension system that uses 6D sensors to read every input and direct torque expertly. Most of the time it’s rear-wheel-drive, but when needed it’ll power the fronts too. The all-new braking system uses something called ‘anti-jerk’, which might reject the lion’s share of Ferrari’s customers.

On public roads, you’re never going to get close to the edge of its abilities. For that reason, you’ll have a lot more fun driving its smaller sister, the 296 (from £240,000), which is just as clever and almost half the price. Where the 849 is also a little lacking is that spine-tingling roar you get when you put your foot down, due to the electric motors taking a dominant role at the start of the rev range. When the cylinders get pumping to the tune of four or five thousand it’s loud and its combative, but emissions legislation has chipped away some of the aural soul.

Apart from that, it’s perfect. Stick it on a racetrack and it’s relentless. Ferrari booked the Monteblanco circuit near Seville so we could unleash the beast. Even then, it felt too fast and powerful, but not intimidating. The different Manettino settings allow the driver to ease themselves in, get familiar with the car’s dynamics and trust that it won’t bite. Sport, Race, CT (traction control) Off: each mode trims away the hand-holding as you get more confident with the way the car rotates through corners, flexes its muscles via the throttle pedal and rips through the gears.

The experience is even sharper if you have the Assetto Fiorano pack, a £42,115 option which strips out 30kg via things like carbon-fibre seats and wheels, and will further reduce your lap-times through enhanced aerodynamics, race-bred shock-absorbers and bigger, stickier tyres.

The 849 Testarossa is capable of so much more than posing, but it’s good for that too. Don those Wayfarers, roll up the sleeves of your pale suit jacket, and cruise. And maybe bust some drug dealers while you’re at it. ‘How do you go from this tranquillity to that violence?’ Don Johnson’s Sonny Crockett was asked. His answer? ‘I usually take the Ferrari.’

Ferrari 849 Testarossa, from £407,617, Ferrari.com, @Ferrari

This is your first glimpse of the much-anticipated Ferrari Luce, the Italian manufacturer’s first foray into a pure EV. The anticipation – and trepidation – pours in from all quarters for several reasons. For the Ferraristi, the challenge is how the company can transition from a legacy based on combustion into the electric era. For everyone else, it’s the first time that two of the most accomplished industrial designers of an era – Jony Ive and Marc Newson – have been tasked with designing a production car.

The road to this point is long and windy and the final destination – for the public and media at least – has still not been reached. The full picture and complete reveal of the Luce will take place towards the end of May. What you see here was unveiled at an event in LoveFrom’s native San Francisco, attended by a smattering of design, tech and automotive media and presided over by Ive, Newson and Ferrari’s Chief Design Officer Flavio Manzoni.

The Ferrari Luce has to do many things, forging a new technological identity for the brand, as well as a new path through largely uncharted but undeniably treacherous territory. You see, the electrification of luxury and performance hasn’t gone quite as well as the auto industry wanted it to. Even though EVs bring bushels of performance, innovative design and levels of luxury and craft that equals traditional platforms, the world’s superrich haven’t exactly fallen over themselves to buy into the zero-emission era.

Ferrari’s statement on the matter is therefore eagerly awaited. The decision to hand design over to Ive and Newson and their team at LoveFrom is therefore simultaneously bold and prudent. Bold, because few brands have the self-confidence and the financial wherewithal to support such a complex project, and prudent, because by hiving off the Ferrari EV to an outside consultancy – however esteemed – there’s always scope to walk it back should the venture not live up to expectations.

Having experienced the second stage of a three-part reveal, we reckon that expectations – thus far – have been exceeded. Ive and Newson were brought on board at the behest of John Elkann, the youthful chairman of Ferrari and Stellantis and member of the mighty Agnelli dynasty.

Elkann’s global outlook is why we’re here in America to see an Italian car designed by an Englishman and an Australian. LoveFrom have chosen the 27th floor of the Transamerica Pyramid for the reveal, recently spruced up to impressive effect by Lord Foster (who worked closely with Ive on Apple Park, lest we forget).

It’s been nearly four and a half years since the collaboration was announced and four months since Ferrari unveiled its new bespoke Elettrica platform to the world. Stage two of this process is the unveil of both the new car’s name – Luce, or ‘light’ – and the key interior components. The exterior (most people’s only experience of a Ferrari) will be shown in May.

But for those familiar with Ive, Newson and the LoveFrom ethos, with its compulsion for flawless kerning, pixel-perfect graphics and the ability to coax hitherto unseen quality from the mass production process. All this is the product of decades of experience, not least at the head of one of a vast, hugely profitable company that had – and still has – the ability to ensure suppliers obey its every whim.

Ferrari is no faceless tech supplier, however. Fiercely independent and beholden to no one in its pursuit of excellence, it is uniquely suited to this kind of partnership. ‘It was a very intense collaboration – our chairman wished to make a clear statement in terms of innovation,’ says Manzoni, resplendent in a black Ferrari baseball cap, ‘the first electric Ferrari had to be something special.’ ‘A designer’s duty is to seize the opportunity of new technologies,’ he continues, citing the work of Bruno Munari, Achille Castiglioni and the other pioneering names who made Italy an industrial design nexus in the 1970s. ‘The idea was to avoid the conventions and codes of car design,’ Manzoni concludes.

After a brief presentation, at which Ferrari’s CEO Benedetto Vigna and Chief Design Officer Flavio Manzoni extol LoveFrom’s virtues, the farsightedness of Mr Elkann and their own humility at handing over such a large and important project, we’re shown a short brand film which introduces the Luce name for the first time.

Let’s be clear, with an EV, Ferrari is going out on a limb regardless of LoveFrom’s involvement. Public opinion – the wealthy, 1%-er Ferrari-buying public that matter – is still lukewarm about the idea of an electric luxury car, let alone one coming from the manufacturer of some of the most famous and fulsome combustion cars in automotive history. Vigna might enthuse about the Luce’s role – ‘a project that will enlighten the future and the road ahead’ - but first the weight of expectation needs to be banished by the jab of cutting-edge design.

Then it’s over to Newson and Ive, each resplendent in casual but contrasting pastel suits. ‘We’re enormously excited, completely terrified, but also honoured,’ Ive begins, before speaking of a ‘strong sense of affection between the two teams’ over the multi-year development program.

LoveFrom’s USP isn’t just for clients; Ive and Newson have carefully constructed a fortress of excellence for themselves, buoyed up by 60 multidisciplinary designers. The lion’s share of the design work, right down to the coding was done here in San Francisco, with Maranello handling the engineering and the all-important drive testing.

The Dash

It’s still a while before anyone outside of Ferrari gets behind the wheel. First, we have to actually see it. Ushered up a few more floors, the fruits of LoveFrom’s labours are revealed; the instrument binnacle, steering wheel, centre screen, control panel, centre console and overhead control panel, along with elegant seats trimmed in tan leather.

At first glance, the ensemble exudes a classical elegance, an analogue familiarity that invites touch and engagement. This is not an intimidating interior, far from it. It’s a space that celebrates materiality, engineering, innovation, craft and information design, rendered with a signature precision that preserves the dominance of the physical over the digital, even though there's a reliance on the latter for the actual display of information.

‘It’s a bizarre and lazy assumption that the interface should be digital if the power source is electric,’ Ive says simply, ‘I love Ferrari’s connection with the joy and love of driving. Their engineering team are breathtaking – we spent a lot of time trying to make this functional, simple and effective.’

In essence, the control surfaces of the Luce have been broken down into these discretely individual elements, related through function, material and aesthetics but treated as individual components. It’s strongly reminiscent of the kind of gadgetry the team has associated with in the past – a smartphone, a Leica camera, a wristwatch, a turntable.

The centre screen has touch capability but it’s not the priority interface. Instead, an array of five toggle switches and a dial provide the primary interaction to control the HVAC. Along the top, two layers of crisp graphics show power output and efficiency, while the centre section of the screen will presumably contain mapping and entertainment information (not yet revealed).

Most essentially, the centre screen contains an analogue clock embedded in the upper righthand corner. Featuring physical hands over a digital face, the clock can be repurposed as a compass and a chronometer, the graphics seamlessly shifting beneath the hands. Two physical buttons add another layer of engagement.

Many contemporary Ferraris offer an optional driver information screen embedded in the dash, but the Luce avoids any duplication by means of a simple mechanical device; the display can be orientated to the passenger by means of the aluminium grab handle mounted below the screen. This doubles up as a palm rest for activating switches or entering information – no hovering over a grimy touchscreen trying to stab the right spot.

The primary instrument binnacle is another self-contained unit, only this time it’s united with the steering column and wheel; they all move and adjust together as a single object. Three digital dials, with another analogue needle in the large centre dial, provide a clarity of information more akin to a helicopter cockpit than a road car. The glass here is lens-like, creating a parallax effect when you move your head, reinforcing the sense of depth and quality.

LoveFrom developed their own typeface for the car, LF Maranello, overseen by resident typographer Antonio Cavedoni. It's all part of a user-centric approach that aims to simplify and demystify. ‘Within a minute of looking at this, you know how to use it,’ says Ive, adding that ‘we’ve drawn on everything we know as a team.’

The Wheel

The wheel is another piece of purist industrial design, the distillation of decades of Ferrari heritage with the utmost graphic simplicity. It has three spokes, as per tradition, with the aluminium structure laid bare. The leather clad rim has a slim, delicate profile, while Ferrari’s signature manettino dial is duplicated – one for driving mode, one for handling mode – set each side of the wheel along with other key drive functions. Indicators are recessed aluminium buttons on the centre spokes, while the paddles operate the Luce’s regenerative braking system.

The Centre Console

The centre console contains the drive selector, window controls and key dock. The latter is a rectangular yellow Ferrari badge, with an e-ink display that turns the yellow background black when the key snaps magnetically into its receptacle and sinks into the glass finished surface. It’s a little piece of theatre, one that goes part way to replacing the snarl and bark of conventional ignition.

The Overhead Console

A separate overhead console houses the aviation inspired Launch Control selector, which must be pulled down and twisted to activate the Luce’s maximum acceleration mode. The centre console extends through the cabin to serve the two rear seats, with another screen, switch bank and two of the most meticulously composed air vents you’re ever likely to see.

These mirror the vents on the dash, with matt aluminium housing and a simple twist mechanism to open the airflow. The move is accompanied by a delightfully mechanical click, a noise and feel that has been carefully honed over countless iterations.

The minimalist material palette transcends the usual automotive mix of metal, carbon fibre, and hard and soft touch plastics. 100% recycled aluminium is used extensively, often CNC machined from solid billets and anodised to create a soft, microscopic texture. Glass surfaces use scratch-resistant glass from Corning, the original iPhone supplier.

The Seats

The seats are more classical, with a ribbed back panel and integrated headrest that references Ferraris of old. Finished in soft tan leather, they eschew the luxury industry’s fascination with elaborate inserts, stitch patterns and sporting form factors.

Like every component in the new industry, the seats, console and particular the dash binnacle are designed to be appreciated from every angle. Because the latter stands proud of the bulkhead, the rear is just as important as the front – you wouldn’t expect anything less from a team of product designers, right down to the last screw.

Despite all this tactile delight there’s still no indication of what the Luce will actually look like. All we know is that it is a large four-door, four-seat GT, along the lines of Ferrari’s Purosangue SUV. The Elettrica EV platform, revealed late last year, will put out around 1,000bhp through no less than four electric motors, be powered by a sizeable 122kWh battery and have a target range of over 300 miles.

There will be no artificial engine noise, but instead a soundtrack generated by the electrically amplified noise of the mechanical components, tuned by a noise cancelling system to exclude unwanted frequencies and capable of running completely silently when required. Handling will be bolstered by active suspension, a development of the system onboard the Purosangue, that makes use of the four individual at-wheel motors to enhance the dynamic experience. In the absence of combustion, feedback, drama and sensation will be created in other ways.

Thus far, design predictions have shown an evolution of current Ferrari design language. Clean sheet briefs are truly rare things to find in the world of car design. We think – and hope – Ive and Newson have gone much further. Will the Luce take on the crisp wedgy profile of the 1973 308 GT4, the poised muscularity of the 1966 275 GTB4 or the fluid sci-fi drama of Pininfarina’s 512S Modulo concept from 1970 (just three examples of the cornucopia of iconic car design in the Ferrari annals)? It could be a synthesis of all three and more or a deliberate avoidance of everything.

These historic cars - and many more – were lovingly dissected and redrawn as handsome vignettes by the LoveFrom team, part of the lavish four volume set of bound research findings and recommendations created in the first six months of the project. ‘You can’t work across disciplines without an insatiable curiosity to learn,’ says Ive, explaining how this research phase is crucial to any LoveFrom project. ‘It demonstrated our deep interest in the culture of Ferrari, both as an automotive brand and from an Italian cultural perspective,’ Newson adds, ‘you really have to get into character.’

The two men have a 30-year friendship, and a love of cars is a shared preoccupation. Often seen at the world’s great concours – Villa d’Este, Pebble Beach, Goodwood, etc., both are noted collectors of classic machines (Newson’s 1934 Bugatti Type 59 won Best of Show at the 2025 International Concours of Elegance in St Moritz). This project is in many ways the culmination of a long personal and professional association.

According to Manzoni, the LoveFrom collaboration has ‘really enriched our approach.’ The Sardinian-born designer, who joined Ferrari as CDO in 2010, describes the Luce as being ‘independent of the design strategies of the [Ferrari] range… this is unico.’ ‘The rest of the range is evolution,’ he continues, ‘we’ve learned a lot, especially in HMI, but we want to keep this car unique.’ Manzoni – nor anyone else – will be drawn on the Luce’s exterior aesthetics. ‘You can imagine the approach [LoveFrom] have used on the exterior,’ he teases, ‘the formal philosophy is the same – very rigorous and very pure.’

The Luce’s interior is fascinating for what it omits as much as much as what it includes. Ive is uncharacteristically blunt in one assessment, telling us that ‘touch doesn’t belong in cars.’ There is touch input, of course, but it’s definitely secondary to the analogue experience. The interior is a defining example of that horrid portmanteau ‘phygital’ (a word which is conspicuously and thankfully absent from any of today’s discussions), a fact that’s all the more interesting coming as it does from one of the preeminent architects of our modern digital lives.

Ive maintains that the distraction-free cockpit of the Luce will ‘save lives’, and it’s hard not to imagine Ferrari’s rivals taking copious notes once they lay eyes on the LoveFrom design. Ferrari itself describes the cabin’s forms and displays as being ‘simplified and rationalised in the service of driving'; it's worth noting that they’re quite a long way from the company’s current interior ethos.

There are some caveats to this blanket anti-screen statement, not least the auto industry’s billion-dollar push towards autonomy. San Francisco is the home of Waymo and the company's LiDAR-encrusted Jaguar I-Paces are a common sight on its streets. It’s one area where the distraction of more screens might be welcome, although a self-driving Ferrari is perhaps even more heretical than an electric one.

Flavio Manzoni acknowledges that the Luce is not designed for traditional Ferrari customers, rather those who are new to the brand and perhaps more taken with the tech and luxury backgrounds of Ive and Newson than with Ferrari’s 79-year history of sports car manufacturing. It could even be more appealing to women, traditionally underrepresented in Ferrari’s customer base (although younger markets like China have a more equitable female/male ratio than the West).

The Luce interior has a clarity of execution and function that few other car companies can currently muster, if they ever could. By avoiding the overt reliance on giant touchscreens and by amplifying the importance of touch and feel, the Luce is taking its own path, parlaying the importance of a true analogue physicality to the spirit and emotion of driving.

Stage two of the Luce reveal certainly corroborates Elkann’s intention to avoid the industry’s existing dogma. As Newson says, ‘we were approached as an outside entity, so our approach was going to be different – that was the whole point of the exercise. The fact that it was an EV was an interesting starting point and a welcome and exciting level of newness.’

From the initial research to the final interior, the Luce project is a showcase for LoveFrom’s obsessive, intensive and unashamedly multidisciplinary approach. ‘If you don’t have a very strong philosophy and discipline, it just won’t work,’ Ive says of the project’s vast complexity, working hand in hand with Ferrari’s engineering team, its suppliers, production partners and the reams of legislation that bind the auto industry.

Newson still enthuses that ‘Ferrari are by far and away the best partner we could have,’ strongly implying that the realisation of this detailed and comprehensive brief would simply not be possible anywhere else.

Ferrari.com, LoveFrom.com

Read our May 2026 report from the full Ferrari Luce reveal in Rome

Ah, Ferrari, that classic case study of mythology’s role in capitalism. A company that has managed its image and legacy with a bravura and unrivalled combination of arrogance and accomplishment, Ferrari has both a rich racing history and enviable commercial success. Not only that, Ferrari has become shorthand for the traditional, if clichéd, glories of Italian culture – vivid, sensual, life-loving, mercurial and passionate.

Taschen’s updated and enhanced Ferrari monograph brings the marque’s story more up to date and gives more than a little justification to this myth-making. Overseen by author Pino Alleivi and with full cooperation and access to the Maranello archives, Ferrari is a mighty homage to a name that continues to make its mark on the world of motorsport, performance, innovation and luxury branding.

Ferrari is something akin to a swan, graceful, smooth and powerful above the surface, but out of sight it is paddling like hell. How else to explain the legendary Italian manufacturer’s ability to spring new models on an unsuspecting public with surprising regularity? How else to explain the merchandising machine that embraces everything from rollercoasters to teddy bears, and high-end audio to Montblanc pens? There’s even a roaring trade in relic-like components once used in F1.

Inside you'll find a historical overview of Enzo Ferrari's life and achievements before the founding of his eponymous company, with a wealth of archive imagery and new photography. The book also includes a comprehensive graphical guide to all Ferrari models – road and track – made from 1940 to 2024. Every book has to end somewhere, and since going to print the relentless Maranello machine has announced both the Amalfi and the 849 Testarossa.

Such is the brand’s strength and reach that you can be sure that this monograph – originally released in a unique and elaborate Marc Newson-designed edition – will be revised and revisited in the years to come. More models, more victories (hopefully) and yet more appealing machines – including the introduction of its first ever all-electric car – are practically guaranteed.

Iconic images from Ferrari's history on road and track

Ferrari, Pino Alleivi, Taschen, £125, Taschen.com, @Taschen

Look back at the evolution of car construction and styling over the course of a century and the progress is evident. Today’s cars are styled like spaceships compared to the boxy, top-heavy motorised carriages of old. But when it comes to interiors, the evolution has been a little slower. Inspect the cockpit of a 1912 Rolls-Royce and you’ll likely find four or more forward-facing seats, quilted leather, wood trim, milled metalwork, intricate dials, a clock, pedals, a gear lever and a steering wheel. It might be a little low-tech and drafty compared with the modern-day equivalent, but the format remains much the same.

‘Historically, car interiors have been designed as singular, controlled environments, offering occupants a unique, hermetically sealed experience,’ says Luke Miles, founder of brand-experience studio NewTerritory. ‘While exterior design often represents the brand, the interior has been a missed opportunity for delivering more meaningful, multi-sensory experiences.’

Formally head of design for Virgin Atlantic and LG Europe, Miles founded London-based NewTerritory in 2017, which specialises in experience design for transport brands such as Delta Air Lines and Mercedes-Benz AG. The Clerkenwell studio is awash with design literature, intriguing samples and mock-ups of an aircraft cabin and a car’s cockpit. It’s no surprise this buzzy townhouse studio caught the attention of US experience consultancy Geniant, which acquired it in July 2025.

Inside the studio, Miles and his team work across a variety of top-secret transport-related products and solutions for well-known brands, all designed to take interior spaces into the next level, instil that particular brand’s ideals on those travelling and, all being well, give them a positive experience to write home about. Not all that easy when your audience of travellers is either busy, distracted, stressed or all of the above.

‘Historically we’ve done a lot of work in aviation spaces, which are very high-density experiential spaces, with an audience that’s captive for a long time. But with automotive, it’s different – you’re in a sealed environment and have complete control over your climate and what’s going on around you,’ says Miles. ‘Other than just the physicality of the interior, we’re looking at how can you pull in more of the senses to deliver an experience that is meaningful and memorable.’

While the structure and format of car interiors hasn’t changed much in a century, it hasn’t dampened carmakers’ appetite for experimentation. In 2013, Mercedes made in-car fragrance diffusers mainstream when it incorporated its Air-Balance package into the S-Class, which pumped scents such as ‘Nightlife Mood’ or ‘Downtown Mood’ from refillable cartridges into the cabin.

Despite it being a slightly more upmarket take on the air freshener dangling from the rear-view mirror, Mercedes still uses fragrance, alongside sound, climate, lighting and seat massage functions, to ‘boost driver wellbeing’, as part of its comfort programmes in cars like the all-electric EQS. It’s as full-on as it sounds, particularly when accidentally triggered it on a quiet motorway stretch at night.

At Jaguar Land Rover, the Range Rover Sport SV saw the arrival of the ‘Body and Soul Seat’ (BASS) in 2024, which plugs into the entertainment and vibrates the seat to the music – something that was added to the new Defender OCTA also. While both Mercedes’ and JLR’s in-cabin innovations can be passed off as slightly eccentric novelties, there is one aspect of car interior innovation that all carmakers have homed in on: the screen.

‘There's this kind of centre of gravity pull towards the screen, which has led to screen dominance,’ says Miles. ‘There's so much you could do sensorially with that space. It's not about just chasing technology and going for screens because they're there, but about trying to be more quiet, sensitive and empathic with how that vehicle communicates with you. It’s hard to demonstrate a brand through the screen because it becomes this midpoint where you can't really tell one from the other,’ he adds.

In its place, Miles argues light, sound and haptics can all provide information to the driver and passengers in the right way and at the right time, without the need for information being channelled through the screen.

‘The interesting thing is to be able to quieten down the interior and then bring information up as required, rather than have it permanently there.’ When it comes to changing the traditional structure of the cabin, Miles sees autonomy as the biggest enabler. ‘When cars reach level five autonomy, which requires no human intervention, then the cabin space can move from being directional to being more dynamic – you can reorientate the interior in a completely different way.’

Not so long ago, when autonomous cars were expected on the roads by the early 2020s, car manufacturers rushed out with concept cars that showed occupants sleeping, watching films and facing each other in a lounge-like setting. In January 2025, transport design student Arya Kani dreamt up the Mercedes x Belmond Hotel on Wheels: Vision Pullman Express, which envisaged a futuristic fastback that doubled as a mobile hotel suite.

‘There's somehow a tension between traditional automotive language, which has dynamism, direction and speed to it, versus the more domestic setting,’ says Miles. ‘This autonomous technology might give rise to new typologies and vehicle – not just in terms of private shared ownership but with the provision of services,’ he adds, going on to explain how entirely new types of vehicles could reshape the idea of mobile healthcare, food delivery or, as Kani’s concept showcases, hospitality.

‘That could be incredibly valuable in certain locations where you might not have the infrastructure to allow people to move from their homes to a more densely populated city, so you could take those services out to them,’ says Miles.

When it comes to technology a little closer to reality, Miles sees a switchback to more analogue controls, particularly in luxury automotive – not just so people can turn something by knowing where the switch is but, ‘through the tactility of those micro interactions, you can also get a sense of the craftsmanship of that vehicle, which maybe lost digitally’.

With brands such as Ferrari returning to buttons over touch-sensitive controls – as with its new Amalfi sportscar – it’s highly likely we’ll see others following suit.

‘Sometimes reductionism, particularly for those highly crafted, well-engineered pieces, can take it back to that midpoint, and you don't necessarily have those little, well-considered details,’ explains Miles.

Alongside AI becoming more a part of the in-car experience and the move away from seeing screens as a solution to everything, Miles sees a need for carmakers and vehicles to act more as hosts, creating experiences that are specific to them. ‘It makes sense, because there are new entrants and new businesses producing vehicles at speed, but for legacy automakers, I think this is a really rich vein to go after and interrogate.’

For now, don’t expect the interior layout of any new car to change too drastically, at least until the first truly full autonomous cars start rolling out. But with Uber expecting to deliver its first driverless taxis on London’s streets as early as spring 2026, the moment for mass-manufactured autonomous cars might come sooner than we think. In the meantime, be assured that designers like Miles are fighting for change, one switch and sensory moment at a time.

NewTerritory.io, @NewTerritoryDesign

Set across three lush islands encircling a turquoise lagoon in the South Malé Atoll, Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi has long been a haven of barefoot luxury, where walking, bicycles, and electric buggies are the standard means to glide from villa to spa. Now, guests have a decidedly more glamorous option: a scaled-down, all-electric version of the 1957 Ferrari’s Le Mans-winning 250 Testa Rossa.

Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi partners with Hedley Studios

The activation results from a partnership with Oxfordshire-based Hedley Studios (formerly The Little Car Company), which produces licensed, precision-scale replicas of iconic sports cars. The exclusive Ferrari Testa Rossa J (one of only 299 models in existence) aligns with the resort’s reputation as one of the Maldives’ most luxurious destinations, while its all-electric drivetrain reflects Hilton’s Travel with Purpose sustainability targets; the resort also collaborates on marine conservation initiatives with Parley for the Oceans and a resident marine biologist.

‘Our team of craftspeople spend over 300 hours hand-beating the aluminium body of the Ferrari Testa Rossa J; a demonstration of skill, precision and artistic appreciation, and to see the result of this craft placed in a location as undeniably beautiful as Ithaafushi will be an awe-inspiring experience for guests at the island,’ said Ben Hedley, founder and CEO of Hedley Studios.

While the Ferrari Testa Rossa J will not serve as a transportation service on the island, guests will have the opportunity to test-drive it and commission their own model, with prices starting from $150,000. Throughout the year, the silver Ferrari Testa Rossa J with its distinctive ‘pontoon fenders’ will be showcased during key island celebrations and exclusive events.

hedleystudios.com, hilton.com

‘Our sport is rich in stories, legends and drama, and to capture that in images is the perfect way to remember the 100 defining moments of our 75-year history,’ writes Stefano Domenicalli, president and CEO of Formula One, in his foreword to Formula 1: The Impossible Collection.

He’s right about allowing pictures to tell the story. The new book from Assouline – hand-stitched and in pole position for fans’ coffee tables – presents a nostalgia-fuelled and fascinating photographic whizz through the championship’s highs and lows, from its gritty beginnings in 1950 to the unfeasibly high-tech and finely orchestrated global showcase it is today.

Happily, though, the rich imagery is accompanied by just enough insightful text by author Brad Spurgeon, a former Formula 1 journalist for The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune, to inform and intrigue us along the way.

Spurgeon explores the inevitable duels that characterise FI as a form of gladiatorial combat and add to its ‘travelling circus’, soap-opera appeal. He cites the rivalry between Ferrari’s tenacious Niki Lauda and McLaren’s ‘playboy’ James Hunt, the latter taking the title in 1976, the year of Lauda’s famous crash (more below); Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s battling through 1989 and 1990, whereby they ‘knocked each other off the track’ at the Japanese Grand Prix two years running (the first year as McLaren teammates); and Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill’s showdown in 1994 at the title-deciding Australian Grand Prix – culminating in another collision.

There are also perfectly captured moments of joy and triumph. There’s Juan Manuel Fangio nonchalantly raising an arm from his Alfa Romeo on winning the 1951 title, at the Spanish Grand Prix; Nigel Mansell dousing Senna in Moët in 1992, having secured the championship at the Hungarian Grand Prix, driving for Williams; a young Schumacher beaming on his 1991 debut (as a stand-in driver for Jordan) at the Belgian Grand Prix; Fernando Alonso held aloft by his Renault team in 2005 on becoming the youngest champion (aged 24 years and 59 days, a record since broken), having finished third at the Brazilian Grand Prix; and Max Verstappen and Red Bull celebrating their 2023 driver’s and constructor’s titles.

Then there are the crashes, which, gruesomely, stick in the memory and are a reminder of F1’s darker side. Lauda is pictured, burnt, bandaged, unbowed, having raced – and finished fourth – in the 1976 Italian Grand Prix just six weeks after being given the last rites following his smash at the old Nürburgring circuit in Germany.

And homage is paid to Senna, at the time perhaps the sport’s biggest name, killed during a deadly weekend at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994, that, between practice, qualifying and the actual race, saw the deaths of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, and injuries to Rubens Barichello and members of the crowd. F1’s earlier days, we learn, were riskier still, and the book acknowledges a sobering list of fatalities and injuries.

Mention is made, of course, of the vastly improved safety that’s now a signature of the modern-day sport, alongside the dizzying array of technology that aids today’s drivers in tandem with their huge supporting teams.

It may all look like a video game, but rare indeed is the driver who can perform with split-second precision while enduring the physical and psychological pressures of a race – think G-forces up to five times your bodyweight, in a cockpit that may be 60°C, as you average 220mph and know that 19 other cars on the track could kill you if you get it wrong. Only elite athletes who have spent their youth rising through the ranks of competitive (and for most, prohibitively expensive) go-kart racing are in the running today, writes Spurgeon (Verstappen, who became the youngest-ever F1 driver at age 17 in 2015, happens to be the son of an F1 driver father and a go-gart champion mother).

Thanks to social media, Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive – taking us behind the scenes of the sport with the drivers as they travel, prepare and just hang out – the televised races themselves, and subscription-based streaming of all the action, we all probably feel we know more about our Formula 1 heroes (in this house, Lando Norris) and/or ‘villains’ (sorry, Max Verstappen) than ever before.

But in other ways, we are perhaps more remote from the action than fans during F1’s earliest, less regulated days, suggests Spurgeon, who recalls having free access to get close to drivers and cars, trackside and in the pits and paddock, when attending the Canadian Grand Prix as a boy, in 1967. This book, he writes, is a chance for a close look once again – albeit from your armchair, and without the noise and the (soon-to-be-phased-out) fossil-fuel fumes.

Formula 1: the Impossible Collection, £1,150, 2nd edition, text by Brad Spurgeon, forewords by Jean Todt and Stefano Domenicali, published by and available from Assouline

How should you feel when you step out of a Ferrari? Exhilarated? Exhausted? Relieved? Content? That very much depends on the model. Over the brand's 85-year history, Ferraris have run the gamut from refined to terrifying, with the latter often closely correlated to the value and rarity of the model. The new 12Cilindri Spider should, by rights, fall into the former camp, being a front-engined grand tourer in the classic mould, designed to evoke Riviera drives, the glamour of long-distance travel, and a general sense of wellbeing.

One must assume that most customers of one of the most world’s exclusive automotive brands seek short sharp doses of adrenaline, rather than a sweaty anxiety-wracked experience. For that reason, the 12Cilindri is perfectly content to potter about using just a trickle of the 830 CV equivalent to a shade under 820 hp) developed by the 6.5 litre V12. Unlike its nearest V12-engined rival, the Aston Martin Vanquish which adds twin turbochargers to its slightly smaller powertrain to make 835 CV, the Ferrari’s engine is naturally aspirated (note also the negligible but also significant performance disparity between the two old rivals).

On the admittedly less than glassy smooth roads outside Lisbon, the 12Cilindri Spider encouraged stately rather than superfast progress. Attention was snared from all and sundry (especially when the press fleet, resplendent in Verde Toscana green, was grouped in a pricey convoy). Despite its sheer size – at over 4.7m long and nearly 2.2m wide the 12Cilindri has an SUV-sized footprint – it was easy to thread the long nose through small villages and into twisting roads that hugged the edge of the Portuguese landscape. Four-wheel steering aids manoeuvrability at low speeds.

Like many modern sports cars, the sound, fury and dynamic precision of the 12Cilindri can be increased by degrees, in this using the F1-inspired Manettino switch on the steering wheel which flips through the driving modes, from the default ‘Sport’ through to a less aggressive ‘Comfort Mode’ and the halo ‘Race Mode’, which dials back the response from the car’s many and various handling systems and dynamic devices.

On a quiet backroad, the over-aggressive deployment of the accelerator illustrated why 830 CV needs electronic management, with the car throwing its big rear wheels to one side and demanding an instant course correction. Race Mode, it’s safe to say, is not one for amateurs.

The majority of Ferrari owners are quite practised, not just in piloting the machines themselves but in navigating the complex relationship they have the company. Ferraristi would claim loyalty, but the company itself demands fealty, including an unwritten code that requires you to acquire ‘entry-level’ models in order to get a shot at buying a ‘special’. These limited-edition cars are four-wheeled index funds, tied to decades of accelerating prices.

It’s scarcity and specialty that drives the undimmable lustre of the brand and every journey in a Ferrari confirms this. Both coupe and Spider versions of the 12Cilindri have attracted criticism for the way they look, but in the metal there’s no questioning the calibre of the design. It’s a sensational piece of work, both ‘disruptive’ and futuristic, according to Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s chief design officer.

There’s also a naked dose of inspiration from the halcyon days of GT motoring, the 1950s and 1960s, and Ferrari’s 1968 365 GTB4, in particular. The opening presentation even throws up a few evocative images from the minds of Syd Mead and Pininfarina at their most mind-meltingly 1970s (the 1970 Ferrari 512 S Modulo), along with Italian product design from the era, conjuring up an aesthetic of space-age optimism that still resonates many decades down the line.

These are the functional forms the 12Cilindri is meant to bring to mind, evoking a sense of time and place that moors the car within the current Ferrari range, all bound up in the mantra ‘different Ferraris for different moments’. At this point in the presentation, Ferrari wheels out a VT from Enzo Ferrari himself, expressing the opinion that the ‘engine is the heart and soul of every Ferrari’. Stirring words, even if they will inevitably become problematic come the autumn when the company starts hawking its first ever EV.

But that’s for another time. As we noted in our review of the coupe, the 12Cilindri adheres to the founder’s dictum by being an ‘unapologetic, screaming supercar’ when required. Calm and repose are also available, but this is a car that celebrates the sound of combustion like no other, even more so in Spider configuration.

To set the 12Cilindri Spider apart from the less brutish Roma Spider, there’s a folding hardtop instead of canvas. Capable of opening and closing in a mere 14 seconds, the entire mechanism sits beneath a beautifully integrated tonneau cover.

Twin rear fairings stretch back from the headrests; these remain in place when the roof is down, giving the Spider more of a targa feel a conventional convertible. With the roof down, there’s not much buffeting or wind noise, thanks in part to the extensive aerodynamic work but also by virtue of the fact that you’re sat deep within the car’s tub, a steeply raked windscreen directing airflow over the cabin.

The technical specification is fearsomely comprehensive, with everything supported by a seven-year warranty. To comply with current regulations there’s a full set of ADAS (easily deactivated by a long press on the small button on the steering wheel). The space frame aluminium chassis, carbon body panels, massive front-hinged body and subtle touches like the small aero flaps on the buttresses show a respect for design decisions big and small.

Even though it’s one of the best Ferrari cockpits of recent memory, the ergonomic choices are still a bit wayward – good luck with stabbing at either the central or passenger touch screen when the handling is being pushed to the limit.

The option list is a work of art by itself, with tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of additional trim and equipment specifications with which to busy yourself. Regardless of how you specify your Spider, Ferrari will insist that the roof, rear deck and front light bar remain black to creating a form that contrasts with the body. Even if you specify black paint, these elements will still be made to stand out.

Naturally, armies of aftermarket companies exist to cater to the tasteless and could presumably override this aesthetic stipulation. With Ferrari recently putting its handmade Italian heel down and refusing to let customers order tasteless specifications and colour combinations, such firms will be in even greater demand; a Ferrari is no longer a reliable indicator of taste or discernment.

Could this be the last car ever to be named after its combustion engine? Perhaps. But even if this is truly the last ever Ferrari V12, the firm is kissing goodbye to its 12-cylinder heart and heritage with a great deal of style.

Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider, from £366,500, Ferrari.com, @Ferrari

There are two features that have come to define Ferraris ever since the first road-going model, the 125 S, rolled out of the factory gates in 1947. One is the marque’s iconic shade of ‘Rosso Corsa’ and the other is its naturally aspirated V12 engine. Enzo Ferrari was such a fan of this particular powerplant, that he even went as far as labelling every non-V12 powered Ferrari as simply a ‘derivation of the original model.’

From the 125’s humble 1.5-litre V12, that produced around 116 hp, the 12-cylinder has been the beating heart of Ferrari’s flagship cars ever since, gracing the likes of the legendary 250 GTO, the 1970s 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ and now, the Dodici Cilindri, the ‘ultimate expression’ of Ferrari’s greatest asset, says the marque.

‘We consider [the 12-cylinder] so much to be the heart of the car that we named the car after it,’ says Ferrari’s design boss Flavio Manzoni at the car’s launch in Luxembourg, suggesting the 12Cilindri is more of a swansong celebration than just another V12, front-engined Ferrari. Nonetheless, developing a brand new V12 in an age when combustion engines are falling out of fashion is a bold move, even for the Modena-based marque.

‘The V12, in its naturally aspirated form, is our purest expression of the DNA of Ferrari,’ justifies Ruggero Cevolani, project leader for the Ferrari 12C's powertrain. ‘We wanted to have it because it makes the car unique; it sounds unique and it feels unique.’

With the range already encompassing everything from the V6-engined 296 and freshly announced F80 hybrid hypercar, to the pure V8-engined Roma and Roma Spider to the V8 hybrid SF90 – Ferrari’s current fastest road car – and soon, a full-electric car, Ferrari argues there was room for another V12, if only to keep its founding father’s legacy alive. ‘This is a way to have a very broad range of engines in our model range,’ says Cevolani.

Filling the V12 shaped hole in the range left when the 812 Superfast ended production earlier this year, the 12Cilindri takes over the grand tourer duties as a grown-up member of the prancing horse family. Given its role and remit, it excels at the long-distance cruising, with Ferrari adding an eight gear to the 12Cilindri’s transmission to calm things down on motorway stretches.

Despite producing 819bhp, reaching 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 211mph, it’s no more challenging to pilot around town and on slow stretches than something with less than half its power output. There’s even a ‘soft button’ to loosen up the suspension on rough surfaces or stretches that require more comfortable and refined driving.

But that’s just one side of the 12Cilindri. The other is an unapologetic, screaming supercar that howls its way through the gears, up to 9250rpm, with a soundtrack that’s virtually unmatched in today’s sports and supercar market. In short, it’s blisteringly quick but, more importantly, it’s composed, using trick technology and Ferrari’s latest stability systems to ensure most drivers will be able to access and make the most of all the performance the 12Cilindri has to offer.

While a handful of 12Cilindri’s might make it out on track, it’s likely Ferrari’s new grand tourer will spend much of its time in and between urban areas, which is where its unique aesthetic will come to be judged. When the covers came off the car in Miami earlier this year, it divided opinion. Part spaceship, part nod to Ferrari’s longstanding relationship with front-engined grand tourers, Manzoni and his design team have created something that goes against the grain, both in how it looks and how it’s powered.

‘I wanted the styling centre to create something truly futuristic, an object inspired in part by science fiction and in part by what was probably the most wonderful era in car design, the era which, in the 1970s in particular, engendered a spirit of innovation fuelled by the space age,’ explains Manzoni.

Referencing wacky, wedge-shaped concept cars like the 1970 Ferrari Modulo as well as some of the classics, Manzoni and his team have blended modernism with a few references from Ferrari’s back catalogue. It’s no mistake that the 12Cilindri’s unique nose looks a lot like the leading edge of the 365GTB/4 ‘Daytona’, for example.

‘We wanted to radically transform the stylistic codes of Ferrari’s previous mid-front-engined V12s,’ says the design boss. ‘It marks a clear departure from the sculptural language of its predecessor.’

Inspired by the ingredients that informed concept cars in the 1960s and ‘70s, Ferrari’s design team treated the surface design of the 12Cilindri as two distinct shells. ‘We did this by starting with a shape made of two pure dihedral planes and then carving it as if we sliced off the excess material extending beyond the maximum width of the car,’ explains Andrea Militello, head of exterior design for Ferrari sports cars. ‘The result of this is these two theoretical lines which visually continue the design, giving its structure and clearly creating the effect of two upper and lower shells.’

Breaking up the glasshouse towards the rear is a striking delta segment, which stretches from the rear wheel arches across the roofline. Adding in some active aerodynamics to the mix, two flaps that sit either side of the rear window raise at speeds over 40 mph to create downforce. ‘[Together] it creates an all-new interpretation of the theme of the flying buttress motif for the cabin superstructure, a theme that has always had a special meaning in Ferrari tradition,’ Militello insists.

Inside, the 12Cilindri’s grand tourer character is reflected in the cabin, which is more aligned to the Purosangue SUV’s configuration than other more performance-focused Ferraris. The ‘dual cockpit’ layout gives the driver and passenger their defined own space, while there’s a surprising amount of room for luggage behind the seats and in the boot. For those looking to fill that space with something in keeping with the car, Ferrari will also sell you a set of customised cases for the 12Cilindri, with each item starting from £2,375.

Keeping up with the levels of luxury offered by rival grand tourers, such as the Bentley Continental GT or Aston Martin Vanquish, the 12Cilindri’s cabin has been treated to a range of devices to make driving it a more convenient, better connected and more comfortable place to pass the time.

Most notably, there’s a new central 10.25-inch touchscreen, which is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, alongside optional massage seats and optional glass-panel roof, which lets in plenty of light, making the cabin feel more spacious. Like the Ferrari Purosangue, the passenger has their own, narrow 8.8-inch screen that shows revs, speed and media information.

With the drop top Spider due to arrive a little later down the line, the coupe will be first out the blocks when deliveries start in early 2025. Owners will pay a handsome price for the 12Cilindri, especially after indulging in the extensive list of extras – this is Ferrari’s most expensive series production car to date.

Regardless, it’s likely Ferrari’s latest offering will find favour with those looking to lock in the last of the V12 era cars. For now, the marque’s fabled V12 lives to breathe another day but all eyes will be on its efforts to find a suitable replacement as its electrified era looms ever closer.

Ferrari 12Cilindri, from £336,500 as a coupe and £366,500 as a convertible, Ferrari.com, @Ferrari

This is the much anticipated Ferrari F80, the seasonal reveal of the Italian manufacturer’s long lineage of flagship, limited-edition sports cars that heralds new design and technology before it cascades down into the rest of the range. Just like the recent McLaren W1, the F80 is not just a technical tour-de-force, but an instant collectible and fast-appreciating asset.

As we noted when the McLaren was revealed earlier this month, the world of supercars is one of superlatives, where being lighter, faster, and more powerful is a prerequisite for any new debut. Ferrari will build 799 examples of the F80 and ownership is reserved for a very exclusive club, usually those who have dug deep and spent freely with the brand in the past.

It’s a world of strictly limited editions, helping stimulate demand and keep value up. This condition was originally governed by racing rules – the legendary Ferrari GTO from 1984 began life as the road-going version of a car designed for a specific race series, with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) requiring 200 examples be built for homologation purposes. In the event, a few more were built to accommodate demand, but the idea of fixing a production number helped burnish the image.

Just three years later, the Ferrari F40 was announced. Originally 400 examples were planned; nearly triple that were eventually built. Again, the 2002 Ferrari Enzo was announced as a run of 399 cars, with another hundred built by the time production ended in 2004.

You can hardly blame Ferrari for wanting to accommodate so many eager buyers, especially when the car starts at around £3.1m. Providing you’ve passed the potential ownership test and have access to the funds, what will F80 ownership have in store for 799 lucky enthusiasts?

At the heart of the new car is a V6 mated to a hybrid system. The total power output of 1200hp makes this the most powerful road-going Ferrari ever made (that all-important superlative), with performance figures to back it up. The F80 will get to 100km/h (62mph) in 2.15 seconds, and double that 5.75 seconds. It will then stop from 200km/h in less than 100 metres. Maximum speed is 350km/h (217mph). To achieve all this, and give the machine ‘uncompromising levels of usability on the road, where it can be driven with ease,’ the technology deployed is fearsome.

To accommodate all this within the low-slung, mid-engine layout, the F80 has had to take on a very technical aesthetic, with squared-off, vertical aero elements, fearsome grilles and splitters and a massive active rear wing. Inside, the layout is completely driver-centric, accentuated by the different coloured seat fabrics. Ferrari admits this gives the car a ‘single-seater feel’, adding that the F80 is an ‘architecture that we would call “1+”’.

There are visual echoes of the recently released Ferrari 12Cilindri, even though the F80 has a very different technical set up, with the same blacked-out headlight band and notched vents and ducts. That’s about as far as the connection goes, because the rest of the F80’s DNA comes straight from the track. In particular, there are straight lifts from Ferrari’s 499P Le Mans car, particularly with the engine and powertrain components, as well as plenty of learnings from Formula 1.

Whereas McLaren’s latest foray into the supercar arena is powered by a hybrid V8, Ferrari reckons it can charge another million quid while taking away two cylinders, such is the power of the brand. Flavio Manzoni and his design team have gone all out to make the F80 look as futuristic as possible, from its butterfly doors and blacked out body panels to the race-inspired steering wheel.

The F80 manages to set itself apart from the pack without sacrificing elegant proportions and visual drama. It’s not a classically beautiful shape like some of its forebears, but that’s unlikely to hamper its claim to supercar supremacy, at least for the time being.

Ferrari F80, Ferrari.com, @Ferrari

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is two years shy of its century. As one of the preeminent surviving Italian coachbuilders, the Milanese firm has gone through a familiar journey of success, struggle, bankruptcy and rebirth, and now finds itself once again in high demand as a supplier of bespoke automobiles to a select group of collectors who aren’t driven by the vicissitudes of luxury car one-upmanship. Touring builds for those who know what they want, not what they’re told they want, bucking trends in design, fashion and vulgar horsepower wars.

This is the Veloce12, a radical and comprehensive overhaul of the 550 Maranello, Ferrari’s flagship V12-powered grand tourer that was manufactured from 1996 to 2002. Originally bodied by Pininfarina, the 550 was never considered one of Ferrari’s stone-cold classics, but rather a relatively discrete GT that harked back to a golden age of motoring.

The Veloce12 starts with the raw building blocks of the 550 and amplifies them, tweaking surfaces and trim, mechanical systems and tunings, to create a GT that is both classically elegant and strikingly modern. ‘It was a dream to make a car that reflected on what we loved about the 90s, but which performs like a contemporary car,’ says Touring’s CEO, Markus Tellenbach, ‘Veloce12 offers the joy and pleasure of commanding a manual machine.’

Four design proposals were made, with the winning design approved by likely customers; 20 of the 30 cars planned have already been sold. ‘It is pure Italian, designed and built in Italy,’ says Tellenbach, adding that ‘everything can be bespoke, as long as it is legally possible.’ Touring’s manufacturing facility not only builds its own limited-edition models but occasionally contracts out to other manufacturers – the upcoming Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is being built there.

You’d be hard-pressed to find many modern cars that blend a manual gearbox with a V12 (Aston Martin’s limited-edition Valour, for example) but that’s exactly what the Veloce12 promises. Ferrari’s 5.5-litre V12 is now paired with better cooling and exhaust systems, new brakes and an advanced new adaptive suspension system, all filtered through the purist analogue driving experience that only a traditional gated gearshift can provide.

‘The 550 had all the ingredients we need, although today it is [technically] quite dated,’ says Tellenbach. Touring set about engaging suppliers who could bring the company’s vision for the car to life. The result is described by Touring as ‘Pure Italianità’, and an ‘antidote to electronic overload.’

Thanks to those enhancements, the Veloce12 now provides an impressive 503hp. Paired with all carbon fibre bodywork, and the car is more responsive and dynamically capable than the original, without losing the qualities of refinement and effortless grace that define the brand. ‘It’s not where we normally sit but we wanted it to be a capable sports car in today’s market,’ Tellenbach admits, adding that ‘Touring is not about lap times or track days or straight-line acceleration. The GT expresses best what Touring stands for – it’s where we believe we can express ourselves in a convincing way.’

‘Touring has 98 years of practice at designing cars that stand the test of time,’ Tellenbach enthusiasts, stressing that in the modern era, the art of coachbuilding is very different. ‘You have to do it in co-operation with a manufacturer because cars are just so sophisticated,’ he says. Acting as a specialist manufacturer for the likes of Alfa Romeo – and licensing the ‘Superleggera’ name to Aston Martin – are just some of the ways that the art of the Carrozzeria survives in the present day. ‘Creating your own car is a high-risk business,’ Tellenbach explains.

Projects like Veloce12 capitalise on enthusiastic owners who want to transform their existing car for the better via an engaging, one-on-one bespoke process. ‘It’s a true driving experience,’ he says of the Veloce12, ‘we promised no screens. None. No downloads. No upgrades. It’s all about the joy of commanding something that precisely follows your directions and inputs. Wired. Honest. Straight and unfiltered.’

Inside and out, the Veloce12 presents a lithe and graceful face to the world, subtly muscular but still delicate in comparison to the aggressive swoops and vents of contemporary supercars and GTs. ‘It’s not a hooligan, it’s an elegant grand turismo,’ Tellenbach stresses, ‘it’s a car in a tuxedo, not a wrestling outfit.’

Touring Superleggera Veloce12, €690,000 plus donor car (excluding taxes), TouringSuperleggera.eu, @TouringSuperleggera

We’ve already praised the Maserati MC20 supercar for being not just beautiful but also a genuinely wonderful car to use every day. With the legendary Italian company in something of a period of transition – spurred on by its status as Stellantis’ most premium brand and the company-wide transition to electrification – the MC20 is the most direct line between the modern Maserati and the feted, near mythological, status of the company in non-specific days gone by.

Maserati knows this all too well, and these two new editions of the MC20, the Icona and Leggenda, play up that historical link with a celebration of one of the company’s rare noughties success stories, the MC12. When it debuted in 2004, the Maserati MC12 was quite unlike any other Maserati of the time. Powered by a Ferrari-derived V12 (and indeed closely related to the contemporaneous Ferrari Enzo), the MC12 was little more than a race car for the road.

Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, just 50 examples of this ‘Maserati Corse’ 12-cylinder were built in order to homologate the successful MC12 GT1 race car. Twenty years later, Maserati has enlisted the services on its in-house Fuoriserie personalisation programme to create these two homages to the MC20’s prestigious predecessor.

The Maserati MC20 Icona is finished in a two-tone livery that directly references the MC12 Stradale, which in turn was paying homage to the earlier Maserati Trofeo Light. All this self-celebration has ultimately turned out rather tastefully, with a white (Bianco Audace Matte) and Blue (Blu Stradale) livery with subtle Maserati Fuoriserie branding. Wheels are chromed with blue hubcaps and blue brake callipers.

The MC20 Leggenda edition is a little bit more ostentatious, with a pairing of Nero Essenza and Digital Mint Matte to mimic the MC12 GT1 in the colours of the successful Vitaphone Racing team. The famous Maserati Trident logo is picked out in yellow, while the wheels and brake callipers go for a much darker hue.

Inside, the Icona and Leggenda special series both feature dedicated lightweight racing seats, as well as the addition of the top-of-the-line Sonus Faber sound system, carbon-fibre interior trim and the special suspension lifter for getting that elegant front end over low kerbs.

Just 20 examples of each will be made. Maserati has just four years to go before its self-declared decision to have its entire range running on electricity alone. You can be sure that the company’s racing heritage won’t stay untapped as it looks to promote this new era.

Maserati MC20 Icona and Leggenda Editions, details at Maserati.com, @Maserati

This is the Ferrari 12Cilindri, the new flagship model in Ferrari’s line-up. Replacing the 812 Superfast (which in turn replaced the F12berlinetta), this model occupies a rarefied niche at the top of the Ferrari tree. It’s ostensibly a gran turismo in the longstanding tradition of elegant two-seaters, but Ferrari has continuously upped the ante to make this model a ferocious performer and ultimate status signifier.

Launched today (3 May 2024) at Miami Beach, the 12Cilindri and 12Cilindri Spider can trace their heritage all the way back to the very first Ferrari of 1947. Mid-front-mounted V12s were the Italian manufacturer’s stock in trade from the outset, back when this format was used for both road and track.

These days, the 12Cilindri’s stomping ground is more likely to be London’s Knightsbridge than the French Riviera, and if you were hoping to be an early customer and haven’t already been in talks with Ferrari, you’re probably out of luck. Ferrari ownership is a loyalty club for the ultra-wealthy, allowing the company to operate an extremely refined kind of supply and demand economics; repeat customers get first dibs on new models.

So what will the lucky few be stepping into? For a start, this is an unashamed, pure fossil-fuel-powered machine. In common with other luxury sports car makers, possession of a bespoke V12 engine brings together a number of unique signature elements: sound, speed, racing heritage, even smell. According to the Ferraristi, these are things no electrically driven car can ever hope to imitate.

Ferrari is happy to dabble with hybrids, as are its rivals, but when it comes to the crunch, 12 snarling cylinders will always win out for now. It’s in the name, after all. There’s an exhaustive list of technical innovations and enhancements that hone and fettle every facet of the driving experience, from the speed of the gear shifts, to the increase of engine power, to the sonic characteristics of the exhaust.

New Ferrari 12Cilindri marks a design departure

In terms of design, the Ferrari 12Cilindri marks a point of real departure from the past. Ferraris of late have been chaotic but expressive automotive sculptures, with an abundance of curves and vents. Design chief Flavio Manzoni and his team at the Ferrari Styling Centre have cleaned up the visual signature, maintaining the long bonnet proportions and aggressive rear haunches.

There’s a strong visual connection to the iconic 1968 Ferrari Daytona, especially in the clean front-end treatment and relationship of the low bonnet to the position of the windscreen. Both coupé and Spider maintain the same purity of line, with the latter incorporating a folding hard-top that stows behind the cockpit.

Seen alongside its sibling, the Ferrari Roma, the 12Cilindri looks even more refined; we’d go so far as to say that it’s one of the prettiest Ferraris of the modern era. The way the bodywork and glass panels of the roof and boot intersect evokes mid-period Bertone concept design, with active aerodynamics elements at the rear keeping the lines pure and simple.

The interior is similarly refined, although the scattergun ergonomics of earlier models seem to have been consolidated by a larger central 10.25-inch touchscreen and an absence of physical buttons. A darkened glass roof improves the sense of space, and the strict two-seater has plenty of stowage space should you be lucky enough to take the 12Cilindri on the kind of journey it was built for. 

Ferrari 12Cilindri and 12Cilindri Spider, more details at Ferrari.com, @Ferrari

The Italian automotive designer Marcello Gandini has died at the age of 85. Born in Turin in August 1938, Gandini’s name will forever be associated with his work at the design studio of Nuccio Bertone, just outside his home city. He joined the studio in 1965 following the departure of chief designer Giorgetto Giugiaro and oversaw a particularly purple patch in the history of Italian sports car design, under the banner of Stile Bertone.

The car that most enthusiasts associate with Gandini is the Lamborghini Countach, presented to the world as the outlandishly low and faceted LP500 concept at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. Three years later, the production car arrived, and had lost none of its drama. The quintessential supercar, it showed Gandini’s mastery of unadorned angularity, reducing the sweeping curves of previous generations into a tight geometric composition where not a line was wasted. 

The Countach wasn’t the designer’s first exploration of this aesthetic. It was preceded by the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero, an even more forbidding wedge-shaped concept that never made it into production. Gandini also oversaw the very different car that ultimately bore the Stratos name, built by Lancia as a road and rally car from 1973 to 1978.

It wasn’t all about supercars. 1970 also saw the debut of another concept, the BMW Garmisch, recently lovingly recreated by a company that recognised its influence on the form of its 1970s-era saloon cars. Other more prosaic models given the Bertone/Gandini treatment include the boxy Fiat 132 and the space age-Citroën BX, over two million of which were built from 1982 to 1994. 

Sports cars, however, were most likely to get the Gandini touch. Before the Countach, he had overseen the design of its predecessor while at Bertone, the Miura. Still regularly considered to be one of the most beautiful cars ever made, the mid-engined Miura was completed in record time to be shown at the 1966 Geneva show – developed so fast that its proposed V12, designed by former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, didn’t actually fit into the prototype. Show visitors were none the wiser. 

Other icons include the Alfa Romeo Montreal, both in concept (shown at Expo 67 in Montreal) and production form, the butch Renault 5 Turbo, the Ferrari Dino 308/GT4, the Maserati Khamsin and Quattroporte II, and several other Lamborghini models, including the Urraco, Jarama and Espada. 

His Fiat X1/9, designed in 1972 for Bertone, was a miniature supercar, a mid-engined two-seater that was in production for 17 years. By distilling the low bonnet, pop-up headlights and wedgy form of his outlandish and expensive concepts and Lamborghinis into a mass-produced Fiat, Gandini gave idea of a mass-produced sports car a new lease of life.

Like many Italian designers of his era, Gandini was prolific and flexible, turning his hand to interiors, architecture product design. He left Bertone in 1980 to become a freelance consultant, and it was a great personal sadness that the company’s private museum, with its unrivalled collection of concepts, was eventually broken up and dispersed amongst the global collecting community.

There was also controversy about Lamborghini’s decision to ‘remake’ the Countach in modern form, with 112 examples of the LPI 800-4 built in 2022. The elderly Gandini was apparently not consulted about the decision to build a car that hewed very closely to his original design. ‘It is clear that markets and marketing itself have changed a lot since then, but as far as I am concerned, to repeat a model of the past, represents in my opinion the negation of the founding principles of my DNA,’ he stated at the time.

Marcello Gandini’s legacy is a portfolio of vehicles that demonstrate an unbroken evolutionary path and an unwavering commitment to form in the service of engineering. 

Of all the Italian car brands, Maserati has travelled the furthest from its original conception. Lamborghini and Ferrari still cater to the select coterie of moneyed enthusiasts that have always hankered after the marque, whilst Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia have weathered decades of ups and downs to all land within the embrace of Stellantis. Today, Maserati sits alongside them, undoubtedly the most storied and aspirational name in the multinational’s line-up.

The Maserati of old was about tailor-making exotica for the jetsetters of an earlier era, with all the economic strife and uncertainty that accompanied shifting markets, demographics, fashions and crises amongst the super-rich. It was a glamorous but fraught existence. Ownership of the brand bounced around the industrial giants of Europe, including a 1970s stint with now label-mates Citroën, before a long association with Fiat, then Ferrari, then Alfa Romeo, ultimately set the company on a firmer footing for the 21st century.

The Maserati line-up was solid but relatively static throughout this period of industrial revolving doors, with cars like the original GranTurismo staying in production for 12 long years (2007 – 2019). Other traditional mainstays like the Quattroporte luxury saloon found their slender niche whittled ever slimmer as SUVs emerged to take over the mid- and upper-market segments. Into this fast-evaporating pool, Maserati also launched the Ghibli, an elegantly doomed rival for the likes of Jaguar, Audi and BMW (‘You’re Not Like Everyone Else,’ reads the strapline on the Ghibli website). 

Maserati Grecale Modena

The Grecale is the newest entry point to the brand, the most affordable Maserati on the market and the one that has – according to enthusiasts – finally divested the Maserati name of any lingering glamour from its glory years. In fact, if it wasn’t for the electrifying (but not electric) MC20 supercar, and the new second series GranTurismo (which does come as an EV), the Maserati of old would effectively be dead and buried. 

The Grecale is Maserati’s second SUV, a smaller sibling to the 2016 Levante. Currently available with two engines, a four-cylinder with mild hybrid assistance (the vanilla of hybrid systems) and a V6 in the high-performance Trofeo edition, it’ll be electrified in due course, thanks to the component and systems-sharing facilitated by being part of a vast manufacturing group. 

Like many Maseratis since the early 1960s, the Grecale name has been derived from a wind, this time one that blows north-easterly in the Mediterranean. We tried the mid-range Modena model, which offers 330hp from its four-cylinder engine (compared to 530hp in the V6). Despite being touted as a mid-size SUV, the Grecale is not svelte, at 4.8m long. It’s the kind of car you sit on, rather than in, giving you the sense of aloof alienation that seems to lure so many buyers to the SUV segment. It’s a world apart from the spindly elegance of Maseratis of old. Elements like the thick A-pillar and 2.1m width from mirror to mirror make it feel much less wieldy than the MC20, a genuine old-school, low-slung supercar that offers far better visibility.

Maserati describes the Grecale as the ‘everyday exceptional’, and it’s pitted against the likes of the Porsche Macan and the Range Rover Sport – family cars that retain the persistent magic of an enduring brand as a way of disguising their essential conformity. In this respect, MC20 owners and Grecale owners might as well exist on two different planets.

If you have the right combination of status anxiety and available space, then the Grecale shouldn’t disappoint. Even in Modena trim it’s a decent performer, although the hybrid system doesn’t do much to quench the big car’s thirst. Cabin fit and finish is high quality, with many essential functions located on the steering wheel; the twin touch screen displays are visually coherent if haptically challenging. 

As well as a digital instrument cluster, Maserati has retained its central high level clock display, originally a conventional quartz mechanism but now a screen that can display a compass and G-meter as well as digital and analogue clocks. There’s also a rousing sound system by Italian audio specialists Sonus faber.

Visually, the Grecale SUV is a collage of greatest hits from Maserati design, from taillights inspired by the Giugiaro-designed 3200 GT, to the over-sized Trident mascot on the grille, and the triple vents on the front flank and the neat headlights that appear to flow into the front wings. Inside, there’s a stitched graphic motif said to be inspired by the engineering-driven architecture of Pier Luigi Nervi. The rear screen is rakishly angled and the Trident reappears on the  C-pillar; the branding is verging on the unsubtle. 

Until recently, Maseratis made a virtue of their raucous engine noise; thankfully the Grecale Modena is more muted on that front. With electrification on the near horizon, it’ll be interesting to hear what sonic confection Maserati concocts to keep this particular brand pillar alive for a more noise conscious age.

At this point in time, the SUV exists as the ultimate automotive chameleon – it can be whatever you want it to be and blend seamlessly into any context. Sports car, family car, luxury car, utility car, electric car – the language of design and marketing can be made to accommodate them all, with enough physical space for designers to shift and tailor the package and presentation. Who is this particular car for? It’s certainly not for the traditional Maserati buyer, a select group that once included Sheikhs and rock stars and tended to favour drama over efficiency and impact over practicality.

The Levante leaves production this month, just as the new GranCabrio arrives to add further lustre to the brand’s history and luxury focus. Maserati’s challenge is to walk the line between building highly desirable supercars and ‘mass premium’ machines like the Grecale that’ll keep it on a secure footing. Ultimately, Grecale ownership might get you into the Maserati club, but it’s an institution that has changed beyond all recognition since it was originally founded. 

Maserati Grecale Modena, from £70,925, Maserati.com, @Maserati

Whether restomods, retromods, exacting recreations or simply something new and unusual that embodies the quintessence of a specific original, here are nine novel examples of how to update the classic spirit of Italian cars.

Restomod Italian cars: classics reimagined

EVO38 by Kimera EVO38

Now that the revival of the Lancia brand is well underway, interest is stirring in the manufacturer’s well-stocked cabinet of modern classics. No less than four different companies offer updated variations on contemporary models. Of particular interest to enthusiasts is the newly announced Kimera EVO38, a high-performance recreation of a car that never existed. 

Lancia’s EVO37 was one of the most ferocious of all the Group B rally cars, a terrifying category of the sport defined by unadulterated raw power. Cancelled in 1986 following a series of fatal accidents (for drivers and spectators), the cars from that era have lived on as a collection of automotive unicorns. The original EVO37 won the World Rally Champion in 1983 and also sired 200 road-going versions (as required by the regulations). 

Kimera, however, has taken upon itself to build the successor that never was, an all-wheel drive, road-going version. Dubbed EVO38, it’ll be low-weight, high power and very low volume – just 38 will be built, at a presumably higher price point that the 37 examples of the EVO37 Kimera previously built for €480,000.

Kimera-Automobili.com, @Kimera_Automobili

MAT Stratos

Yet another Lancia rally car returned for the 21st century. This time, the underpinnings of the MAT Stratos are rather different from the mighty Gandini-styled original (working for Bertone). Beneath the lightly updated wedge-shaped bodywork of the handful of cars built at the turn of the decade by Manifattura Automobili Torino, lies a Ferrari F430. 

This particular reincarnation had a long gestation, and the New Stratos had to make do with a rather outdated donor vehicle after Ferrari withdrew direct support. It’s still a welcome revival of one of motoring’s most dramatic forms.

ManifatturaAutomobiliTorino.com, @manifatturaautomobilitorino

Maturo Stradale

Lancia’s Delta model stood in stark comparison to the Stratos. Introduced in 1979, the year after the Stratos went out of production, it was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro; the creases were still sharp, but the overall form favoured right angles, not origami-like folds. By the 1980s, the Delta’s racing variant was once again winning rallies and once again inspiring a classic performance road car. The Lancia Delta HF Integrale fleshed out Giugiaro’s neat box with big arches for a wider track and fat tyres, rally-car acceleration and a rather fragile constitution that required constant maintenance.

Dutch manufacturer Maturo specialises in restoring original cars, but it also builds this, the Maturo Stradale, a ground-up restomod that swaps out the panels for carbon fibre replicas, with a roll cage at its heart. Lighter, more powerful and far more robust than the original, a Maturo Stradale is a bespoke creation that’ll set you back around £400k.

MaturoCars.com, @MaturoCars

Thornley Kelham Outlaw B20GT

Our final re-fettled Lancia is Thornley Kelham’s Outlaw B20GT, an upgraded and aesthetically enhanced version of the fabled Lancia Aurelia B20GT, the progenitor of all modern grand tourers. Lancia built the B20GT from 1951 onwards, with stunning bodywork designed by Ghia. In the hands of Gloucestershire-based specialist Thornley Kelham, this svelte Italian GT becomes the Fuorilegge (‘Outlaw’), with revised bodywork inspired by American hotrod culture.

The company built its first Outlaw in 2015, with a planned run of nine unique machines. The first six were powered with uprated Lancia engines, but the final three – still in build – will have Alfa Romeo V6s.

Fuorilegge.co.uk, ThornleyKelham.com, @ThornleyKelham

Totem Automobili GT

Totem Automobili describes itself as a ’tailor-made handcraft supercar manufacturer’, based in Venice and focused, laser-like, on what are perhaps Alfa Romeo’s most beautiful cars, the compact 105 and 115 Series Coupés that the company built in various configurations from 1963 to 1975. Available as high-power Giulia Sprint GT, GT Junior and racing GTA models, the original was shaped by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone (before he set up on his own).

Totem Automobili clearly knows the power and reach of this particular machine and has created three restomod versions that update the specs but keep the aesthetics as pure as possible (although they’re all longer and wider than the compact originals).

As well as the sleek GT Super and storming GTAModificata versions, Totem also makes the GT Electric, a hugely powerful GT EV with a projected 500km range and supercar-killing acceleration. All petrol-powered Totem GTs have a V6, with the ultra-light, wide-bodied, carbon-fibre GTAModificata putting out an impressive 810hp. Just five will be made, with the GT Super offering a more refined driving experience that evokes the grace and simplicity of its 1960s forerunner.

TotemAutomobili.com, @Totem.Automobili

ErreErre Fuoriserie Giulia

Another Italian homage to Alfa, Turin-based ErreErre Fuoriserie splices old and new in a more literal way with a recreation of the 1962 Giulia saloon. Billed as the ‘first retromod of a four-door sedan’, it evokes, rather than replicates, the spirit of the 1960s, with a contemporary Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio serving as a donor car.

That takes care of performance, but the style component has been put through a blender of post-war design influences. ErreErre has chamfered the smooth curves of the modern Alfa into an approximation of a 1960s suit, with an abrupt tail, new retro-style front end and bespoke interior. Just 33 cars will be built, with prices starting at €400,000.

ErreErreFuoriserie.com, @erreerrefuoriserie

Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival

The rebirth of Bizzarrini focused first on this, the 5300 GT Corsa Revival, an exacting recreation of the Italian company’s 1960s road/race car. Although focus is shifting to the forthcoming Giotto supercar, the company’s facility in the north of England will still hand-build this meticulous machine, with every last nut and bolt carefully matched to the car that won its class at Le Mans in 1964. Priced from a heady £1.65 million, the Corsa Revival is an indication of the seemingly limitless value of original classics. 

Bizzarrini.com, @BizzarriniDesign

Breadvan Hommage by Niels van Roij Design

Dutch designer Niels van Roij has mastered the art of the tailored automobile, working on badges as diverse as Fiat and Range Rover. True automotive one-offs, each car is designed and built according to coachbuilding tradition, often responding to a whim or suggestion to do something out of the ordinary – a Tesla or Rolls-Royce shooting brake, for example.

This is the Breadvan Hommage, a one-off rebodied Ferrari 550 designed to pay homage to another unique car, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’ of 1962. This machine – the creation of Giotto Bizzarrini himself – got its nickname from the aerodynamically pure but rather commercial-looking appearance of the long roofline. In building a modern version (revealed in 2021), van Roij and his client demonstrate a respect for history as well as a certain sense of humour.

NielsvanRoij.com, @NielsvanRoijDesign

Fiat 500 by Silent Classics

Finally, a more modestly scaled and attainable project in the shape of the iconic Fiat 500, courtesy of British company Silent Classics. As the name suggests, the North Dorset-based workshop specialises in transforming existing classics into electric vehicles, with Bentleys, Daimlers and Datsuns all receiving the high-voltage treatment, along with a smattering of pre-war cars.

Silent Classics’ Fiat 500E (not to be confused with Fiat’s modern EV of the same name) retains the car’s scale, looks and sheer delight, with an all-new powertrain giving up to 100 miles of range and rather more zip than the original. Complete cars are available from £50,000, with limitless options for those that like their luxuries down-sized. 

SilentClassics.co.uk, @Silent_Classics

This is the new AGTZ Twin Tail by La Squadra and Zagato. A bespoke creation intended as a limited edition of just 19 cars, the project is the result of a tie-in between Zagato, the legendary Italian coachbuilder, and La Squadra, a Polish one-stop-shop for supercar owners who want to collect, maintain, and experience their cars at events and track days around Europe.

Founded by Jakub Pietrzak in Katowice in 2013, La Squadra is already involved with brands such as Ferrari, Pagani, Koenigsegg, Bugatti and Alpine. The next step was to create a unique car of its own. That machine is the AGTZ Twin Tail, a uniquely transformable reimagining of a legendary 1960s racer.

The unspoken name here is Alpine, presumably for reason of rights. The new car pays homage to Alpine’s A210 and A220 models, designed in the late 1960s to compete at Le Mans. One A220 in particular has been evoked, a car that raced at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969 before being converted, with its long, aerodynamic tail cut 30cm short to make the car better suited to sprint racing.

The new AGTZ takes on Alpine’s heritage in two ways. Firstly, it combines the two designs of the A220 into a single product, with removable rear bodywork that transforms the proportions and performance of the car. Then, underneath Zagato’s signature bodywork, is the modern icon created by a reborn Alpine brand, the Alpine A110.

Describing the AGTZ Twin Tail as ‘One car. Two souls’, Andrea Zagato, grandson of the company’s founder Ugo Zagato, explains, ‘Without knowing the past, you cannot invent the future.’ Founded in 1919, the coachbuilder is responsible for some of the most spectacular limited editions and one-offs in automotive history, with collaborations including Aston Martin, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and many more. 

The Zagato aesthetic is certainly unique, and the compact, perfectly proportioned AGTZ accommodates its key elements, from the ‘double bubble’ roof to the vertical tail and long nose. ‘We didn’t want to make a pure racing car because technology, aerodynamics and power have changed a lot since the 1960s,’ Andrea Zagato explains. ‘Instead, we wanted to capture the inspiration and design innovation of the A220 shorttail and create an authentic Gran Turismo in the true Zagato tradition.’

Pietrzak believes that revisiting the glories of the past is ever more necessary in the face of changing technology. ‘We are just at the beginning of this renaissance,’ he says. ‘Electrification increases competition and it’s harder to differentiate products in terms of performance and driving stimuli. Design will take on greater significance, allowing artisan coachbuilders to step onto the stage and deliver unique projects that will separate intrepid brands from the rest of the pack.’

AGTZ Twin Tail, from €650,000 plus tax, AGTZTwintail.com, @agtztwintail

Zagato.it, @zagato1919

LaSquadra.pl, @lasquadra__

Once upon a time, the art of crafting a bespoke body for car from scratch – otherwise known as coachbuilding – was the norm. Cars were rare, highly personal and prized possessions, and coachbuilders could create exceptional car bodies with their highly skilled teams of designers, panel beaters and engineers. The art peaked in the 1950s and 1960s, an age that gave way to creations like the Ferrari 250 GT California by Pininfarina, the Maserati A6GCS by Frua and the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring Superleggera.

While the move towards mass manufacturing saw the practice decline from the 1970s onwards, coachbuilding is back on the map, largely down to the work of companies like Ares Modena. Based in the heart of Italy’s fabled Motor Valley, Ares was founded in 2014 to bring highly personalised, coachbuilt creations to life, such as its latest, bespoke build – the Ares Wami Lalique Spyder. Behind the Spyder’s unusual name, lies the story of its creation – made in partnership with French crystal maker Lalique, the Wami takes its name from the man who created it, Ares executive chairman Waleed Al Ghafari. 

Ares Wami Lalique Spyder

‘As a young child, I was captivated by the cars driven by the film stars in the 1950s and 1960s, during that carefree and wonderful era known to all as La Dolce Vita,’ says Al Ghafari, glancing over at a cream-coloured, pre-production model at the company’s Centro Stile in Modena. ‘It was this admiration that led us to design and develop a car like no other – a retro-styled roadster that not only pays homage to some of the most beautiful cars ever created but one that incorporates remarkable artistry and craftsmanship from Lalique.’ 

Made in collaboration with Lalique, most of the 13 handcrafted crystals can be found inside the car, embedded into the dashboard, centre console and headrests, while four crystals sit proudly in the middle of the Spyder’s wire wheels. While it’s the first time Lalique has completely outfitted a production car, Lalique’s automotive pedigree is well founded, with the French company responsible for making the detailed crystal mascots that adorned many of Ettore Bugatti’s cars in the 1920s. 

Underneath its coachbuilt, carbon-fibre body lies a naturally aspirated 3.0-litre straight-six engine that puts out 231hp. While it’s no match for any modern-day supercar, the unit was chosen for its character and sound quality, with Al Ghafari opting for an engine that would be sympathetic to the car’s midcentury aesthetic.

On that note, there’s more than a hint of the Maserati A6GCS Frua about the Spyder, with the front grille designed to reference Al Ghafari’s favourite classic car. From the grille, an unbroken, sweeping shoulder line rounds off rear, where three stacked rear lights resemble that of the Aston Martin DB5 – another Italian-designed classic from the period.

‘Thanks to the perfect marriage between Lalique’s bespoke crystal design and Ares’ high level of excellence in car design and technology, the result of this collaboration is the ultimate luxury accessory,’ says Silvio Denz, Lalique’s chairman and CEO, at the reveal of the production car. ‘This very special collaboration perpetuates the work of René Lalique, whose iconic car mascots were some of his best-known pieces created in the Roaring Twenties.’

With just 12 examples of the Ares Wami Lalique Spyder planned for production, the company’s latest coachbuilt offering will be a rare sight. Priced just under £400,000 the Spyder comes in only a handful of colours, such as Amalfi Red or Mediterranean Light Blue, to ensure it remains true to the pastel palate of the midcentury cars it emulates. 

While the Ares Wami Lalique Spyder is a significant purchase, like most of the company’s creations, it’s guaranteed to stand out from the crowd, even in the supercar scenes of Monaco and Modena. With other projects well in the works, Ares’ commitment to coachbuilding is ensuring the art of crafting entirely bespoke automobiles survives well into the future.

AresDesign.com, @AresModena

This was the year that EVs went thoroughly mainstream, even as political dithering dented the emphasis on the urgency of the need to switch from ICE. There were still a few notable novelties in the latter sphere, perhaps buoyed by mixed official messaging and the belief that fossil fuels somehow deserved a future in the hands of the well-heeled. Whilst we thoroughly enjoyed the latest from Ferrari, Maserati, and Aston Martin, there’s an undeniable feeling of an era drawing to a close. Will the old guard manage to rewrite the rule book, or will new brands without the heavy drag of heritage be able to get ahead? Peruse our picks of 2023 (in no particular order)…

Top 10 cars of 2023

01. Audi e-tron GT

We loved Audi’s e-tron GT, a handsome grand tourer that shows that premium electric cars need not be about over-powered hypercars or hefty SUVs. Expect a face-lifted and lightly upgraded version of the GT to break cover in 2024 – we’re looking forward to it. 

READ MORE 

02. Hyundai Ioniq 6

Hyundai kept up its current winning streak with the sleek Ioniq 6, a streamlined electric saloon that showed that design could be bold and different without alienating anyone. 

READ MORE

03. Volkswagen ID.Buzz

VW has a hit on its hands with the ID.Buzz, a flexible MPV that’s equally at home as a car or a commercial vehicle. The high-riding driving position and acres of space recall the original VW Combi and 2024 should see 7-seater and campervan variants arrive.

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04. Rolls-Royce Spectre

Rolls-Royce spoiled us with the all-electric Spectre, a mighty achievement that goes straight to the top of the luxury wish-list. Serene, majestic yet also sprightly and long-legged, the vast coupé epitomises the company’s long-held ethos.  

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05. Lotus Eletre

The Lotus Eletre follows the familiar playbook for all-new electric auto brands; start with a sizeable SUV and eventually downscale. Only Lotus is no start-up. The Eletre might not demonstrate the venerable sports car maker’s historic passion for lightness, but it’s a truly convincing piece of kit. Next year sees the arrival of the new Emeya electric saloon.

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06. Ferrari Roma Spider

Ferrari threw open the roads of Sardinia for the launch of its beautiful Roma Spider, reasoning that the media would look most kindly on the car if it was in its natural environment. It succeeded; in the right location, the Spider encapsulates la dolce vita.

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07. Aston Martin DB12

Something of a glorious anachronism, the DB12 is the automotive equivalent of a long-running film franchise that manages to stay fresh and relevant with each release. Essentially an uprated and restyled DB11, the DB12 retains the essential elements of beauty and brawn, only now it’s a little more user friendly. 

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08. Maserati MC20

The MC20 was a mild surprise for long-time followers of Italian manufacturer Maserati. Just when it seemed the company had sacrificed over a century of history on the altar of the dreaded SUV, it came out with this magnificent mid-engined supercar. Old-school cool in all the right ways. 2024 marks Maserati’s 110th birthday, so expect some kind of four-wheeled celebration. 

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09. Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale

Another modern Italian masterpiece, the 33 Stradale is a strictly limited-edition hypercar. Unveiled back in August, it pointed to a mini design renaissance for the firm, once the unrivalled masters of making beautiful cars at every price point. If just 10 per cent of the 33 Stradale’s good looks make it into the next all-electric generation of Alfa road cars, the company’s future looks bright.

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10. David Brown Automotive Mini eMastered

Finally, a leftfield choice that merges truly iconic design with up-to-the-minute technology. DBA’s Mini eMastered is both strikingly brilliant and fantastically expensive. The ultimate luxury city car?  

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Some cars are simply too expensive to drive. The limited supply of, say, 1960s Ferraris, means that their value as literal investment vehicles far out-performs their charms on the road or track. Short of treating their cars like literal museum pieces, collectors and owners need a solution that combines cossetting with display. 

We’ve previously reported on bespoke garages with an architectural edge and storage solutions like Garage Deluxe’s subterranean supercar stash. Cartainers are different. The eponymous Kentucky-based company launched the new Ceres 001 Founders Edition Cartainer at this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach. Just 50 units will be made, priced from $60,000, aimed not just at those intent on static, climate-controlled display of their favourite four-wheelers, but those who need to transport them as well. 

Why you need a Cartainer

The Ceres 001 is a vitrine that can also be shipped, designed explicitly for secure global transportation. ‘Our goal with our new Ceres 001 Founders Edition design is to provide an incredible jewel-box showcase made for fine automobiles that is just as brilliant as the car inside on display,’ says Cartainers’ president Sarah Blasi. In addition to being perfectly lit and temperature-controlled, the Ceres 001 can be tracked via GPS, with an array of security cameras and sensors to keep the precious cargo safe. 

Each unit weighs a hefty 2,200kg and is made from a blend of steel, 10mm-thick polycarbonate and aluminium, with customisable parts that can be colour-matched to the car within. The shipping chassis slots into the E Track cargo control system and you can of course keep tabs on where your car is via an iPhone app. Onboard power gives you three days of remote security functions. Whether you’re shipping a sports car from concours to festival or shuffling an automotive asset from a Freeport to the auction room, Cartainers think they have you covered. 

For more information, visit Cartainers.com

So you want to be an Instagram star? Consider investing in a vintage Fiat 500 Jolly beach car. An adorable sky-blue model from 1959, with wicker seats and an open roof, went up for auction at this year’s Zoute Sale in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. Prior to the sale, it took a few last trips through town, as delighted bystanders smiled, waved, and snapped photos galore.

The beach community known as Knokke Le Zoute was having one of the year’s busiest weekends, thanks to the annual Zoute Grand Prix, a four-day high-end car, art, and lifestyle festival in early October that includes a BonhamsCars auction of vintage and classic cars, an exhibition of new top-of-the-line contemporary cars, a three-day classic car rally, and a GT tour.

Buckle up for the Zoute Grand Prix

The Fiat Jolly had competition for attention – seemingly every other car on the road that weekend was a collector’s item, and the quiet atmosphere was punctuated by the muscular growl of revving engines. At the luxury La Réserve hotel, teenage boys, ‘car spotters’, circled the parking lot, cameras in hand. A particularly excited group gathered to photograph a Bugatti Chiron with German plates. One spotter, from Luxembourg, explained that an alert about the car had gone out on social media. ‘You don’t see many like this,’ he said, kissing his fingers appreciatively.

But fine cars are never an unusual sight here; even a young woman working in the hotel lobby pulled out her phone to show off her family’s two Porsches. Asked whether anyone here drives a Subaru, she just laughed. ‘This is Knokke.’

Commonly referred to as Belgium’s Saint-Tropez, Knokke-Heist was settled at the beginning of the 20th century by three families who catered to British tourists by building a golf course, tennis courts, stables, and white villas with red tile roofs. 

Today, Knokke counts 33,000 inhabitants and 110,000 owners of second homes. Name a monarch or billionaire, and he (or she) is probably here. People are drawn not only by the favourable tax code, but also by 11km of sandy beach, high-end shopping, Michelin-starred restaurants, and a thriving art scene. The town’s art deco casino boasts an astonishing 360-degree mural by Belgian Surrealist René Magritte, measuring 70m wide by 7m tall (soon to be restored as part of a major facelift by TAB Architects and Barozzi Veiga).

The town contains 90 art galleries in just two square kilometres. Perhaps its most prestigious dealer is Guy Pieters, the Belgian son of a house painter who opened his first gallery in Knokke in 1981, knowing he would find collectors nearby. One of his longtime artists is Wolfgang Volz, Christo’s exclusive photographer, who was in town to show his photos of the wrapped Arc de Triomphe. ‘I didn’t know how to spell Knokke,’ said Volz. ‘Now I’ve had about five solo exhibitions here.’

Another artist in Knokke for the weekend was Princess Delphine of Belgium, only recently recognised as part of the royal family after her father, King Albert II, was obliged by the courts to take a DNA test. She drove the last leg of the auto rally in a BMW 507 roadster (lent by BMW from its heritage fleet), just like the one Elvis Presley acquired when doing his military service in Germany. 

Female drivers were definitely a minority in the Zoute Rally, which attracted 250 historic cars and typically has a waiting list. A woman named Patricia, from Antwerp, took the wheel of a red 1963 Jaguar E-Type, while her male partner navigated. When asked why she got to drive, she smiled: ‘Because it’s my car.’

The Zoute Grand Prix was founded in 2010 by two brothers, Filip and David Bourgoo, who owned an Audi-Bentley dealership. Believing that motor shows had grown too big and no longer attracted the right people, they displayed a new car in central Knokke, in front of the Louis Vuitton boutique. Sensing an opportunity, Ferrari asked them to build a marquee for its new products. Other brands followed. ‘Ten years ago, we had to beg to sell cars in Knokke,’ said Filip. ‘Now they’re queuing.’

Collector’s items, contemporary and classic

Visitors paid €75 for a ticket to enter the Grand Prix’s two beachside pavilions. In the Prado Zoute pavilion, 21 car manufacturers showed their latest models, from the Lamborghini Revuelto to the Ferrari Purosangue four-seater. Around half were electric. The car drawing the biggest crowds was the fully electric Rolls-Royce Spectre that customers had just started receiving that very week. The beautiful beast weighed 3 tonnes, with a choice of 44,000 paint colours, and a price tag of €525,000. Product expert Ed Drake said that the car’s bespoke road sound (to alert pedestrians to its presence) was recorded by an orchestra imitating the sound of a Rolls-Royce accelerating.  

Tucked away among the collector cars was the new Rimac Nevera, the young Croatian brand’s first commercial automobile, which has set the record as the world’s fastest electric production car: 0-100 km/h in 1.81 seconds. Brand manager Bernard Van Bellingen said they sold one car this year – a special version, to a buyer in Belgium, for €2.4 million – and that the year’s second sale ‘will arrive’.

There are cars that people drive, and those that sit pretty. The latter, 96 collector cars, were on display in the Zoute Gallery pavilion. Many had barely ever touched asphalt. All of them hit the block on Sunday at BonhamsCars’ tenth annual Zoute Sale, which has quickly become one of the world’s most important auctions of rare collection cars. Ruinart Champagne flowed freely, poured by servers in Magritte-inspired bowler hats. 

Several cars (notably supercars and hypercars), sold for close to one million euros or more, receiving audience applause each time they hit the milestone. An immaculate 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder with less than 400km on the odometer doubled its bottom estimate to reach €1.2 million. ‘Who woulda thought?’ said the auctioneer, Maarten ten Holder, managing director of BonhamsCars, as it blew past one million.

Surprising rarities included a 1997 SAAB EX prototype, a one-of-a-kind car made for the company’s 50th anniversary. A collection of eight different Aston Martins from 2010 were all painted the same tangerine orange colour – a special request by the original owner. A 1956 Bentley S-Type Continental was formerly driven by Helmut Newton. And a 1998 Aston Martin DB7 Volante once cradled J.Lo’s bottom in her ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’ music video. Love may be cheap, but this car ended up being a steal at just over €40,000.

The star of the sale was a stunning beige 1959 Ferrari 250 GT ‘Tour de France’ with all original parts, owned for 37 years by Swiss racing driver Plinio Haas. It went for slightly below its estimate, €4.83 million (including premium), to a North American client, pushing the day’s total sales to more than €27 million, a record for BonhamsCars.

And the little blue Fiat Jolly? After a round of lively bidding, it sold for an impressive €155,250 to a bidder from the United Arab Emirates.

Zoute Grand Prix, ZouteGrandPrix.be, Cars.Bonhams.com

A Ferrari conjures up a complex tangle of emotions. For the haves, it’s either a hard-earned passport to an exclusive ownership club, or an overt display of decidedly unstealthy wealth. For the have-nots, a Ferrari is a brazen symbol of unwelcome excess and extravagance. For the car enthusiast, the prancing horse badge is almost always a glorious sight to behold, born by a machine that can brighten the darkest day. The uninitiated simply wonder what all the fuss is about. 

Even the most diehard automotive agnostic couldn’t deny that the new Ferrari Roma Spider possesses some kind of inherent, animalistic appeal. The convertible variant of Ferrari’s current front-engined GT car, the Roma Spider was announced back in spring 2023. Styled in-house at the Ferrari Styling Centre, the Roma Spider makes a strong case for being one of the most beautiful cars on the market today. 

This proclamation will quicken the pulse of Ferrari’s management, who set out to build the Roma as an explicit homage to La Dolce Vita, the glory days of the 1950s and 1960s when Italy was synonymous with style and the good life, not just in automotive design, but in fashion, architecture, design, cuisine, culture and more. 

Ferrari, then as now, played a flagship role in shaping this cultural moment. It was the heyday of Enzo Ferrari’s reign over the company he founded in 1947, an era that saw Ferrari’s total domination on the race track and the absolute embodiment of what a luxury sports car looked like on the road. Ferraris of the era were numerous and varied, styled by the myriad carrozzeria that competed for Enzo’s attention and affection.

One of the reasons the Roma Spider is seen to evoke this halcyon era is the incorporation of a soft top, rather than a folding hardtop roof. According to Ferrari, this is the first pairing of a traditional canvas convertible roof with a front-engined car for over a half a century (the 1969 Ferrari 365 GTS4, to be precise). However, the soft-tops of the 1960s are no match for the sophistication of today’s equivalents. 

Made from five layers of acoustic fabric, with a real glass rear panel, the Roma’s top can be dropped at speeds of up to 60km/h, folding away in just 13.5 seconds. The boot is left relatively unencumbered – all the better for a weekend’s worth of luggage – and the sound insulation effectively shuts out the world. There are four colour choices, including an optional ‘iridescent weave’ that gives the closed top a reflective, slightly glossy surface, whilst contrast stitching can be specified, just one of many customisation options. 

A Spider is meant to be driven top down and gone are the days when that meant being buffeted into oblivion. A cleverly engineered wind deflector sits over the (vestigial) rear seats and helps reshape the passing air to create a calming bubble of serenity around the driver and passenger’s heads. It’s not all about carefully curated silence though; most owners will want to make the most of the turbocharged V8 that sits up front. This unit puts out 620CV, delivering a relentless explosion of power when you put your foot down, but calm, measured progress when you simply feather the throttle.

Ferrari Roma Spider: lithe and compact to drive

Driving the Roma Spider around the winding roads of southern Sardinia was a sublime experience. Warm autumnal weather, no glaring sun, scarce traffic and smooth surfaces allowed for an instant bond with a car that proved reassuringly easy to drive fast. Many modern GTs express their power through brawn and muscularity, but the Spider feels lithe and compact; it helps that there’s an evocative driver’s seat view of the twin humps of the curvaceous wheel arches, bisected by the bulge of the engine. Corners can be dived into with abandon, overtaking is the work of a few seconds, and power never wanes nor grip abates.

It's hard to imagine how Ferrari will manage to electrify an experience that’s so centred on such an explosive demonstration of traditional combustion. Despite the Roma Spider being awash with sophisticated systems, from traction control to active aerodynamics, there are times when its technology abuts emotion, and ends up coming off slightly worse. 

For example, the Roma includes lane-keeping assist and an emergency braking system, both making their debut in a Ferrari. It’s a decision driven by the need for high safety ratings, but also one that’ll induce grumbling amongst the cognoscenti. Characteristically, Ferrari takes it all in its stride; one of the first things the red-shirted man from Maranello did on settling us into the Roma’s cockpit was to turn both systems to ‘off’.

Elsewhere, the Roma’s ergonomics and electronics are either infuriatingly idiosyncratic or a welcome break from automotive convention, depending on your point of view. The start button is a touch pad on the steering wheel. Infotainment is so obtuse as to be a hazard to use on the move, while some of the haptic touch buttons are the antithesis of intuitive. 

Even so, it would be perfectly possible to drive the Roma daily, thanks to the comfort of its seats, the useful storage space in the rear and its docility at low speeds. No one will, of course, such are the arcane rules of Ferrari ownership and length of the waiting lists – this is the kind of car that joins a fleet of similar machines and enjoys only sporadic use.

The idea of an ‘affordable Ferrari’ is a ship that has long since sailed. Nevertheless, the Roma Spider’s fusion of loving memory, lascivious beauty and driving pleasure doesn’t necessarily guarantee it a spot on the supercar collector’s radar. New money might baulk at the Roma’s unapologetically unhybridised commitment to raw, visceral combustion. It might equally dismiss the glorious front-engined form as not being a sufficiently over-the-top visual display of speed and power. 

Although Ferrari is characteristically explicit about the Roma’s dynamic and sporting abilities, it is also just as proud of its ‘restrained elegance’. Restraint is not commonly aligned with Ferrari ownership; drive this car aggressively anywhere near a centre of population, and you’ll soon discover whether people consider your sonic presence mellifluous or menacing; it’s a car for passing through, not hanging around. Living la dolce vita can be tough when you're passing by people whose vita is not nearly as dolce as yours, and no amount of nostalgia or admiration can negate that. The Roma is an object of undeniable beauty that – perversely - might end up struggling for universal affection. 

Ferrari Roma Spider, from £210,313, as tested £287,753, Ferrari.com

Automobili Pininfarina is undergoing a transformation from a design house to a car manufacturer in its own right. The company is currently crafting a select number of bespoke Battista electric hypercars at its sites in Cambiano, Italy and Munich, Germany. But what’s next? With only 150 examples of the Battista due to be built, Pininfarina needs a model that takes its novel take on luxury electrification to a wider audience. 

The new Pura Vision is, strictly speaking, a concept car. Revealed today at Monterey Car Week, this high-riding LUV (Luxury Utility Vehicle) takes a very different approach to high-end auto design. Cynics might say that this is simply an SUV, an electrified version of the range-topping models from Ferrari (Purosangue) and Aston Martin (DBX 707). But the Pura is not just all-electric from the ground up, it’s also lower and very differently proportioned to a ‘conventional’ SUV.  

We spoke to Dave Amantea, Automobili Pininfarina’s Chief Design Officer, about the journey to this vision, and what it means for what’s coming next. 

‘Everything we do as a company should have a really strong vision,’ Amantea explains, ‘when we were developing the Battista, we wanted to create a vision that would influence the entire company… We’ve been the kingmakers for a lot of brands in the past, but this was something for ourselves.’ At around about the same time as work began on Battista, Amantea and his team were also exploring other directions. ‘We were exploring what we could create for a minimum of four occupants,’ he says, ‘a car that is trying to be different – an Italian reinterpretation of the SUV segment.’ 

Amantea points out that Pininfarina’s customers – admittedly there haven’t been very many to date – are looking for something different, particularly in the realm of electric cars. A scale model of the original Pura concept was shown to select customers at Pebble Beach in 2019, partly to, in Amantea’s words, ‘give them confidence in the future of the brand.’ ‘We put our customers at the centre of our scopes,’ he continues, ‘it wasn’t until 2022 that we decided we were ready to show the concept to a wider circle.’ 

It's taken another twelve months for the car you see here to go public. With raised up ground clearance, but with a rear-set, wrapround glass cabin and voluptuous bodywork, the Pura is quite unlike any car from Pininfarina’s regular luxury rivals. It’s more akin to the cinematic drama of 70s and 80s concept vehicles, especially with its rear opening rear doors and gull-winged glass roof panel that raises to ease access into the four-seater cabin.

‘The positive feedback exceeded our expectations,’ Amantea says of last year’s unveiling, ‘We’re saying that Pininfarina is not just about Battista. We’re ready to design anything, and this concept shows our vision of future luxury.’ One key inspiration was the world of gravel bikes. This hybrid of the speed and lightness of a racing bike with the rugged structure of a mountain bike gives the gravel bike a very distinct set of characteristics and qualities. The Pura is cut from the same cloth. 

‘We’ve noticed that our customers want off-road as well as sporting ability,’ Amantea says, ‘Of course, only a small percentage of people take their SUVs off-road. Extreme off-roaders use dedicated vehicles. But in luxury design, we have to give people something in between.’ One jumping off point was the world of yacht design, an increasingly popular reference for car designers of all stripes, but especially in the luxury sector. The interior also shuns leather in favour of a new signature textile made from 30% Nativa wool and 70% recycled polyester.

The Pura Vision basks in the technical wizardry that defines a good concept, from ‘nanofibre’ headlights to vast 23-inch wheels, ‘Lounge Door’ openings with a pillarless design and those dramatic opening side windows (inspired by Battista Farina’s design for the 1950s Lancia Florida saloon). The glasshouse is ringed with an anodised aluminium beltline, with another aluminium element defining the roof, while also incorporating the rearview cameras. 

Although Amantea is adamant that the Pura is a ‘design vision only,’ he acknowledges that ‘when we show something, there is a solid study behind it.’ Given that Pininfarina’s select customer base helped determine the packaging and approach, particularly the interior, it is unlikely that they won’t be offered the chance to buy something very similar, very soon. ‘Our customers recognised Pura Vision as a new animal on the market,’ says Amantea, adding that ‘Pininfarina has always been about making trends.’ This is one vision we expect to translate into reality. 

Pura Vision, concept only, Automobili Pininfarina, Automobili-Pininfarina.com

The Pininfarina Battista is a ready-made icon. Unveiled in 2019 and delivered to customers from October 2022, the electric ‘hyper GT’  is both feted by the industry’s design greats (it won the Design Award at the 2021 Concorso d'Eleganza in Lake Como) and beloved by its wealthy owners (data suggests every car delivered has been driven at least 1,000 miles – no mean feat in an age of cars as shrink-wrapped investment vehicles). 

Under the guidance of Automobili Pininfarina’s new CEO Paolo Dellachà, in the job just six months, the Italian manufacturer is taking a leaf from Bugatti’s playbook and spinning its only model off into myriad special editions. The Pininfarina Battista Edizione Nino Farina is a bit of a mouthful, as well as being the second limited series model of the car after the Battista Anniversario. Both will be made in an edition of five, out of the total of 150 Battistas the company plans to build before 2028. 

Pininfarina Battista Edizione Nino Farina

Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina established ‘Carrozzeria Pinin Farina‘ in 1928. Pininfarina’s long, long history of car design was the impetus behind the move into manufacturing, with parent company (Mahindra) reasoning that such rich heritage would make the Pininfarina name instantly desirable amongst a certain class of ultra-wealthy car collector. The company’s greatest hits are long and starry, including some of the finest Ferraris ever built, such as the 250 Europa GT, Dino and Testarossa, as well as highly praised models for Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, Fiat, Volvo, and Peugeot. Automobili Pininfarina was spun off from the main consultancy in 2018. 

Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina was Pinin’s nephew. Born in 1906, he went on to become a pioneering racing driver, winning the title of Italian Champion from 1937 to 1939. Nino was also the first winner of the inaugural World Championship of Drivers, the precursor to today’s Formula One World Drivers’ Championship, in 1950 at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo. He went on to drive for Ferrari, once described by Enzo Ferrari as driving ‘as if the devil was behind him and angels ahead’. He died, in a car accident, in 1966. 

Such a storied career is a gift that no car maker could overlook. This new edition honours the racer’s life, with a livery that evokes the racing colours of his era (without treading on Ferrari’s toes). The car features bespoke Rosso Nino paint with contrasting stripes in Bianco Sestriere and Iconica Blu. New Glorioso Gold wheels and unique hand-painted ‘01’ side graphic are joined by a two-tone interior theme.  

Appropriately enough, all Battistas deliver performance that’ll best a Formula One car, old or new. The car will rocket to 60mph in 1.79 seconds, reaching double that speed in just 4.49 seconds. It also handles deftly, is docile enough to be used everyday and has a range of nearly 300 miles. Proudly handcrafted in Italy (Cambiano, to be precise), it is the most powerful Italian production car made to date (a fact that must rile Ferrari no end). 

The company’s chief design officer Dave Amantea explained how each car typically has between €400,00 and €1.1m worth of customisation work on top of the €2m-plus purchase price, and emphasises just how important individuality is to the collector. Amantea also notes that the battery-powered Battista is pushing the hypercar market in new directions, inviting engagement from those who care little about traditional engineering. Even so, the company has instilled the Battista with a sound of its own that rumbles away on start-up like an approaching helicopter. 

Pininfarina Battista Edizione Nino Farina, design-editions.automobili-pininfarina.com

In a fridge at The Little Car Company’s factory at Bicester Heritage in Oxfordshire is a bottle of champagne. The idea is that anyone who drives a mile in one of the company’s bespoke electric classic cars and doesn’t return with a smile on their face wins the bubbles. To date, four years after the company was established, the bottle remains unopened. 

The Little Car Company (TLCC) is the brainchild of Ben Hedley. Founded by 2019, its first project was the Bugatti Baby II, a meticulous recreation of the famous pre-war single-seat Type 35 Grand Prix car. 

Built at 75 per cent scale, with exacting attention to detail, the prototype, Hedley proudly tells, was sent over to Bugatti's HQ at Molsheim in France for approval, where it received a rapturous reception. Hedley originally intended to create a modern update of Ettore Bugatti’s own Bugatti Baby, a driveable 50 per cent scale model built in 1926 for his son Jean that went into limited production for eager customers. 

The Little Car Company and its electric dream machines

The original plan had been to create a precise half-scale replica, but Hedley and his team quickly realised that building a ‘junior classic car’ without considering its potential as a grown-up toy would be a missed opportunity. To that end, the Bugatti Baby II was designed from the outset to be as delightful to drive as the original, only this time with electric power at its heart. 

‘I’ve come around to electrification in classic cars,’ Hedley admits, pointing out that ‘the originals are just too expensive to drive’. Examples of the Type 35 have reached prices of nearly £4m in recent years, thanks to its combination of provenance, brilliance and the eternally attractive Bugatti name. TLCC’s Baby II is true to Hedley’s assertion that ‘we don’t do replicas, we do reinterpretations’, with elements taken from Bugatti’s production cars, as well as limited editions built for owners of modern machines like the Mistral. 

‘The brands have realised that they’re educating the next generation of customers,’ Hedley notes, with the second model in TLCC’s portfolio tapping directly into the cerebral cortex of Dinky toy owners who went on to acquire the real thing. The DB5 Junior, officially licensed by Aston Martin, is a very different beast to the stripped-down Bugatti. Plusher and more luxurious, it’s also much more complex, with 1,200 parts versus the Baby II’s 700. The braking system is by Brembo, taken from a Ducati bike, the dampers are by Bilstein, and the car was signed off by Darren Turner, one of Aston Martin’s experienced racing drivers and handling specialists. 

It’s available in three versions, a ‘basic’ model, a high-performance Vantage model and the ultimate in cinematic collectables, the No Time To Die Edition. The last, which starts at £90,000, incorporates a genuine smoke screen, retractable headlight machine guns (not genuine), a revolving digital number plate and more. ‘I was a massive James Bond fan,’ Hedley admits. ‘It sounded like a brilliant idea, but it was actually next-level complexity.’ Just 125 will be made.

Finally, there’s the Testa Rossa J, an immaculately beautiful reconstruction of Ferrari’s legendary late 1950s racing car. Various versions of this classic machine were built, but TLCC have chosen the 1958 250 TR model, bodied by Scaglietti with its distinctive ‘pontoon fenders’. Keen competitors can specify the Pacco Gare model, which increases the power, and adds a roll hoop, spotlights and a tonneau cover. Like the DB5 and Baby II, every element is hand-assembled, with many suppliers drawn from the real world of classic car parts – wire wheels from Borrani, steering wheels from Nardi, instruments by Smiths and tyres from Pirelli. 

‘Ferrari was the last brand on our radar,’ Hedley recalls. ‘I went to Milan to present three options, but they’d already chosen the Testa Rossa. Yes, they’re tough to work with, but once you’re through the door they’re brilliant.’ With a hand-formed aluminium body over a tubular frame, and genuine Ferrari badges on the nose, it’s about as authentic as it could possibly be.  

Remember your racing goggles

We’re back to that bottle of champagne. Bicester Heritage is set within the grounds of a former RAF base and still has active runways. Handily, the extensive taxiways double up as a compact racetrack, so TLCC has plenty of space to show off what its little cars can do. The combination of scale, light weight and a zippy electric motor brings another crucial element to the package; all of these cars are enormously fun to drive. The Bugatti and Ferrari tip the scales at barely 250kg, with the DB5 slightly heavier at 350kg.

All models follow a similar approach, with an electric motor driven by a modular battery system. Want more power? Add another battery. In the Bugatti you sit low but exposed, sticking out of the upright cockpit like a true vintage racer. The small scale means that both DB5 and Testa Rossa offer a similar go-kart-style experience, albeit it’s slightly harder to squeeze down behind the wheel. 

Once you’re there, the little cars of TLCC can be thrown around Bicester’s wide track with abandon. The power is instant, the steering razor sharp. All three cars can be made to slide satisfying around corners, with the squeal of rubber on tarmac the only sound you’ll hear. The Ferrari is a particularly exhilarating experience, with the Pacco Gare’s extra power helping the sleek little machine scythe through the air – racing goggles would have been a good idea. The champagne stays on ice. 

The batteries provide enough juice for around an hour of tearing up the track – and slotting in a new one is a simple trackside operation. Hedley says plans are afoot for an endurance race event with teams of adults and children sharing the driving.  About 90 per cent of TLCC’s cars are exported, with an optional bespoke packing crate serving as a storage garage once they’ve arrived. Many buyers already own the real thing and want their little version to exactly match the livery and trim of the original car. The company also offers a ‘flying doctor’ service for repairs and upgrades. 

‘We build our cars to road car standards, but brands have asked us not to make them road legal,’ Hedley says, adding, ‘although clients have.’ TLCC fans might be interested in the company’s next projects. In a crashing tonal change, the other prototype in build (apart from a very secret project for another storied British manufacturer) is TLCC’s Tamiya Wild One MAX, an electric off-road buggy based not on a real car, but on a remote-control car made by the iconic Japanese modelmaker in the 1980s. 

As a scaled-up model, the Wild One MAX is effectively ‘life-sized’, even though at 3.5m long it’s shorter than a Fiat 500, than with the added bonus of being road legal. The Wild One MAX has a top speed of around 60mph, as well as massive ground clearance for bashing dunes and an optional windscreen. It would take some grit, but you could certainly commute in this if you tried hard enough. Small electric cars now have a new kind of champion. 

Bugatti Baby II, from £31,000, BugattiBaby.com

Aston Martin DB5 Junior, from £39,000, TheLittleCar.Co

Ferrari Testa Rossa J Pacco Gare, price on application, TestaRossaJ.com

Tamiya Wild One MAX, price tbc, WildOneMAX.com

The new Aston Martin DB12 blends clever technology and exacting craftsmanship with brutish design inspiration from the earlier DBS, along with an all-new interior and a steady-eyed focus on the future of the brand. It’s an evocative continuation of the ‘DB’ line that started all the way back in 1948 with the 2-Litre Sports model, the original ‘DB1’. Over the past 75 years, we’ve seen the company run all the way through DB2 to DB11, with the notable omission of a ‘DB8’ (it was deemed to be a confusing name for a V12-powered car). 

Leaving aside the awkward fact that the DB12 is a V8-powered car, Aston Martin is happily ploughing on with its famous naming tradition (presumably kicking the awkward thought of an unlucky DB13 down the road for a few more years). Superficially, what we have here is a substantial upgrade and overhaul of the DB11, introduced in 2016. Aston Martin describes the DB12 as the ‘world’s first Super Tourer’, slicing and dicing the niches at the upper end of the car market still further to suit its current agenda and target audience. 

Up close with the Aston Martin DB12

The first thing to get out of the way is that this car has nothing to do with electrification whatsoever. Although Aston heralds the DB12 as ‘the first of its next-generation sportscars’, there’s not yet any talk of hybridisation, let alone electrification. Aston Martin’s first production PHEV will be the limited-edition Valhalla, a date for which hasn’t yet been announced. In comparison, DB12 is old-school muscle, albeit with a rich veneer of new technology. The latter is evident in the all-new interior, a game-changing development that pushes DB12 straight to the top of its class. 

The interior was always DB11’s Achilles’ heel, an overbearing cascade of switches, dials, displays and outdated interfaces that was, at best, a mild inconvenience that couldn’t quite obscure the essential brilliance of actual driving. Luxury has moved on since then, and even the mildest of inconveniences are no longer tolerated. Hence Aston has made a big investment in a new interiors approach, combining digital and analogue with an all-new bespoke infotainment system and an altogether less oppressive feeling. 

You still sit low and cossetted within the cabin in a sporting driving position that precludes any sight of the end of the long bonnet as it falls away to the signature metal-vaned Aston Martin grille and (Peter Saville-designed) wings logo. Aston Martins aren’t shrinking, and the DB12 adds a few millimetres in every direction on to the already sizeable DB11, so it’s lucky that the steering is so direct and precise, allowing you to place the car on the road with ease. 

The sprightliness comes courtesy of refined and enhanced suspension, with fully adaptive dampers (soft for cruising, firmer for twistier routes), and an uprated 4.0 twin-turbo V8 that puts out 680 PS. That’s theoretically enough for a 202mph top speed, an academic stat that maintains parity with rivals like Ferrari and McLaren, and a 0-6mph sprint in 3.5 seconds.

Such comparisons are all the more potent in 2023 given Aston Martin’s ongoing success in Formula 1 (following a rocky start in 2021). Not only does the sport give the manufacturer a regular chance to trounce its long-running rival Ferrari, F1 also pushes the Aston brand into new markets. It’s an expensive but valuable marketing strategy that is boosted by the company’s very real motorsport origins. 

A ‘Super Tourer’ must be more than just a sprinter, however. To justify this designation, the DB12 needs to have a broad suite of talents. For marketing folk, this means hunting down empty sectors in the Venn diagram of automotive luxury, not as hardcore as Ferrari, nor as luxurious as Rolls-Royce, not as traditional as a Bentley, more tasteful than a Lamborghini, yet somewhere close enough to every benchmark to deserve its own slot.

None of this would matter is the DB12 was not beautiful. In our opinion, it’s the best-looking Aston Martin since the DB9, a fluid composition that maintains the proportional perfection of its predecessor with tighter detailing and an overall muscularity that evokes the 70s-era Vantage. ‘DB12’s styling, features an all-new front-end treatment, wider stance and more muscular surfaces for increased presence,’ explains Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s executive vice president and chief creative officer. ‘The interior has also been completely redesigned,’ he adds, ‘with clean horizontal lines that emphasise the sense of space and provide the perfect contemporary backdrop for new a new state-of-the-art infotainment system.’

These digital details matter more and more. Alongside the crisp typography and simple graphics on the screens, there is a companion Aston Martin App, which communicates directly via the car’s on-board e-SIM. The latter also allows OTA updates of the DB12’s software, with additional services due to be added over time. A subscription service provides expanded functionality, including vehicle management and diagnostics, remote lock and unlock and theft alert. 

The optional surround sound upgrade marks Aston Martin’s first partnership with British audio specialists Bowers & Wilkins. The 1,170W system uses 15 speakers for immersive 3D sound, with components embedded within the car’s structure for better acoustic performance. The infotainment system also supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while oft-used functions like heating and ventilation are operated by physical controls. 

Another first is the inclusion of a ‘Wet’ driving mode in the DB12’s Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) system, selected via the knurled rotary controller in the new centre console. There’s a lot of power to play with, and while the ESP can be overridden if desired, the on-board systems do an excellent job at keeping things in check if you run out of road or ability. There’s also more urgency and vitality than even the fastest DB11, with a propulsive shove accompanied by that howling V8. If this noise is not to your liking, you probably have no place behind the wheel of such a car; at least, that’s what Aston is reasoning right now. Despite the thick-rimmed wheel, the steering is precise and direct, making this a hugely involving car to drive when desired; for everyday driving, it is as docile and refined as a limousine. 

So is the DB12’s Super Tourer designation justified? The romance of the road trip is changing fast, as is the cultural acceptance of driving fast. The DB12 is a celebration of a new era, yet it looks forward while keeping one oily foot in the past. For traditionalists, it’s a car without any conceivable downsides, meaning that current customers and Aston fans can and should rush to sign up. But where does that leave electrification? We’re now at a point in time where a hybridised supercar no longer feels heretical, so could there ever be a PHEV or EV in the DB’s future? Perhaps a designation of tomorrow’s ultimate touring machine would be more convincing if there was. 

Aston Martin DB12, from £185,000, AstonMartin.com

Michael Mauer, vice president of style at Porsche, has overseen the creation of a new Porsche badge, the latest iteration of a longstanding and ever-evolving symbol of sports motoring. 

Ferrari isn’t the only company to have a rampant horse on its badge. Although the Italian stallion was originally associated with 1930s racing Alfa Romeo, Enzo Ferrari’s former team, it has been associated with Ferrari’s own cars since the first Ferrari 125 S of 1947. 

The following year, a new sports car maker emerged from the ashes of post-war German industry. Porsche’s badge has more in common with traditional heraldry than its Italian counterpart. The horse comes from the flag of the city of Stuttgart (‘stud garden’, a name which gives away its horse-breeding history). The first badge bore the name of the company and its hometown, with the black and red colouring and deer-antler motif lifted directly from the shield of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, the state founded in 1945 and eventually becoming part of Baden-Württemberg.

This clearly Germanic symbol was partly due to influential car importer Max Hoffman, the man who brought Porsche to the USA. Hoffman wanted the new 356 sports car to better signal its origins, and the crest was drawn up in 1952, four years after the car debuted. 

The draughtsman behind the logo was one Franz Xaver Reimspiess, an Austrian engineer responsible for much of the mechanical innovation behind the Volkswagen Beetle. Reimspiess was also rumoured to have designed the Volkswagen logo in 1936.  

The new crest maintains the form and dimensions of the original but tightens up every element. ‘The “75 years of Porsche sports cars” anniversary was the occasion for us to fundamentally rework this trademark,’ Mauer says, ‘We reinterpreted historical characteristics and combined them with innovative design elements such as a honeycomb structure and brushed metal.’

It's taken three years to shape this badge, both as a three-dimensional physical object to adorn the cars and as a 2D logotype that’ll been seen around the world both digitally and in printed matter. The process was overseen by Joachim Paetzel, specialist for colour and trim at the brand. 

Every facet is different, included a softer coloured gold, a finely tapered bevel around the edge, the application of clear brushed metal surfaces behind the antlers and a new 3D honeycomb pattern for the red stripes. The word ‘Stuttgart’ now uses Porsche’s own typeface and the horse itself has been redrawn to be bolder and less stylised.

The original crest was given a refresh in 1954, then again in 1963, 1973, 1994, 2008 and finally in 2014. This new badge will make its debut on the new Porsche Panamera, due at the end of 2023. The company keeps historic badges in production, however, as the Porsche Classic restoration service needs to have access to every conceivable part. With 75 years of heritage to preserve, plus high hopes of at least another 75 to come, brand identities are precious enough to need continuous care.

Porsche.com

We’re a little bit late to the Maserati MC20 party, the prestige mid-engine sports car that’s intended to steal a little bit of thunder from the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini. Aside from a few high-end hypercars, the Italian brand hasn’t been a player in this particular niche for decades, preferring instead to focus on grand tourers and super saloons.

Back in 2004, the brand launched the MC12, an extremely limited edition (62 examples) sports car that heralded the company’s return to high-profile motorsport. Based on the Ferrari Enzo, the road-going versions of the MC12 were oversized and awkward. 

After years of alternating between vicious rivalry and close partnership, Maserati’s last hook-up with Ferrari effectively ended for good in 2021, when parent company Fiat was absorbed in Stellantis (Ferrari having taken itself public in 2015 and leaving Fiat the following year).

The MC20 debuted in 2020, but the pandemic pushed back drives and deliveries until a couple of years later, risking the presentation of a car that was significantly off the pace in comparison to its competitors. Thankfully, the company put sufficient thought and energy into ensuring the MC20 was very much a worthy challenger from the outset.

A completely clean sheet design, the MC20 pairs a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis with a 3.0 litre V6 engine, developed in-house and dubbed ‘Nettuno’ (it can also be found in other Maserati models). The interior is lightweight and stripped down but is far from rough and ready. 

In fact, it’s one of the most ergonomically appealing of all modern Maseratis, eschewing awkward quirks in favour of easily accessible controls, good visibility and comfortable seats. Even the touchscreen works well, helpfully placed close at hand so you don’t have to stretch a wobbly finger to change functions.

It’s not luxurious, of course – no mid-engine sports car should ever claim to be such a thing. Three driving modes – GT, Sport and Wet – give you a choice of fast, faster and cautious, and the suspension is never less than firm. The low-slung nose can be hydraulically lifted to cope with raised curbs and speed bumps, and the view out back comes courtesy of a digital rear view ‘mirror’ that shows a high-res scene of the road behind; the real view is somewhat obscured.

Objectively and subjectively, this is an excellent car. It fulfils the unspoken brief of a mid-engine machine by delivering visual drama and drawing attention whether it’s static or in motion, thanks to the butterfly doors and vocal engine noise (albeit mercifully a touch more subdued than Maserati’s V8 models). 

And while performance is certainly competitive, it stops short of being top dog. There’s a sense that Maserati has moved on from the minutiae of split-second sprint times and largely theoretical top speeds, choosing instead to focus on creating a super sports car in an all-round usable package.

But why now? Why introduce a storming conventionally powered supercar just as we’re entering the twilight of these automotive thunder gods? It’s true that rumblings about e-fuels have been getting louder in recent months, as German manufacturers lobby to extend the 2035 ban on ICE car manufacturing. For Maserati, the immediate future means splitting its range into EV and ICE versions, starting with the GranTurismo Folgore (‘lightning’), which will be sold alongside a V6 Nettuno version.

From next year, MC20 customers will get the same choice, and the MC20 Folgore promises to deliver equivalent levels of power and range. However, there’s no escaping the fact that MC20 ownership, regardless of your chosen powertrain, is priced in line with competitors from Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren, ie, high.

If you simply must have the swagger of a low-slung mid-engine machine but can’t run to nearly £200k, consider the Lotus Emira, which weighs in at just under the MC20’s 1,500kg, packs a V6 and starts from £77,795. 

The real test is whether an EV delivers the dopamine fix of focus and attention garnered by the sound of combustion. As the EV era dawns, there are going to be some shake-ups in the world of luxury sports cars.

Maserati MC20, from £197,994, Maserati.com

In June 2024, the Maserati MC20 Leggenda and Icona were launched, each in limited editions of 20

Hot on the heels of Ferrari’s excellent but divisive Purosangue, the Italian sports car maker has unveiled a model that harks back to its most romantic roots. This serene machine is the forthcoming Ferrari Roma Spider, a soft-top convertible that instantly becomes the brand’s most delicate and tasteful model.

Ferrari Roma Spider: a soft-top convertible

Open-top motoring is a core component of the brand, not least because of its association with Formula One. The Roma Spider is a direct replacement for the Ferrari Portofino M, which in turn replaced the California T. Both of those models had a folding hard-top, and the decision to switch to a fabric roof is partly about heritage, partly about efficiency.

The last soft-top Ferrari was the mid-engine 2010 F430 Spider, but the Roma Spider’s true front-engined predecessor is the Ferrari 365 GTS4, dating back all the way to 1969. Modern fabric roofs have come a long way since the late 1960s. The electric mechanism opens swiftly and silently in just 13.5 seconds, and a clever wind deflector keeps the occupants unruffled. 

This is helpful, because the Spider shares its hard-topped sibling’s performance ability, with an entirely unrelaxing top speed of 199mph and a 3.4 second sprint to 62mph. That’s all down to the twin-turbocharged V8 engine under the long, shark-nosed bonnet, the sound of which is obviously given a fillip when the roof is down.

Unusually, the Spider also carries over the coupé’s vestigial rear seats (what Ferrari calls a ‘2+’ configuration). While the rear headrests flow into the structure and form of the tonneau cover, they’re also substantially higher than the front seats, emphasising rather than cloaking the raised rear deck that houses the roof mechanism.

Roof up, and the lines of the coupé are approximated, if not matched precisely. The rear screen is cleverly folded away with the rest of the roof when not in use, and the compact mechanism ensures there’s still enough space for long-distance luggage requirements (and you can always stash bags in the back seats as well).

In its early days, Ferrari explicitly pitched its open models to the endless skies of the American West Coast, starting with the original 1960 250 GT SWB California Spyder. The new Spider looks set to continue this tradition of combining glamour with grit. 

Ferrari Roma Spider, available from late 2023, price tbc, Ferrari.com

The new Ferrari Purosangue has shaken up the sports car market. A controversial late entry into the luxury SUV/crossover segment, the  car marks a departure for the brand and a challenge for the man who led the team that designed it, Flavio Manzoni. We spoke to the company's design chief about the process. 

Flavio Manzoni on the Ferrari Purosangue

Wallpaper*: How did the design team approach the brief for the Ferrari Purosangue? 

Flavio Manzoni: When we started the project, we had many discussions of how to do a Ferrari with these characteristics. It was a positive challenge – a way to express our identity in a completely new typology of car. First, we wanted to make a Ferrari, not an SUV. A Ferrari with practicality and space and a panoramic interior. Perhaps some team members were not completely convinced at the start – they thought it might break certain rules about our history. But I didn’t have any fear of making this car.

W*: Are there set rules of Ferrari design? 

FM: It is the first Ferrari with four doors, although not four seats. It is not low and sleek, so there are design challenges with the proportions. Everybody – the driver and passengers – is involved in the driving experience. 

W*: When did you start working on the Purosangue? 

FM: It was a long process – five years of development. The start was dedicated to looking at all the variables; the complexity of such a car is much higher than many previous Ferraris. 

W* How did function shape the car or vice versa? 

FM: Function determined the form, starting with the engine size and position. You’ll see that the bonnet is not as long as on the GTC4Lusso, for example. Visual balance was extremely important – we had to balance all the elements of the car. The engine is set well back, beneath the base of the windscreen, the wheels are almost sticking out from the body, giving it an athletic and agile stance.

W*: What other considerations shaped the car? 

FM: The impact of aerodynamics was even higher on the Purosangue than on other Ferraris, simply because it is the tallest car we have ever made. We divided the form into two parts, body and underbody. The body is treated like an aerodynamic sculpture, just like a Ferrari 296 GTB. The underbody is black and incorporates all the key aerodynamic elements, like the air bridges on the bonnet. Only Ferrari can do this – we interpret our DNA in a very artistic way.  

W*: Could this platform be used for a hybrid powertrain? 

FM: It’s just a matter of embracing a technology that has different perspectives and objectives. For example, with electric cars designers are talking more about drag. With ICE cars, we are more concerned with downforce. 

W*: What about the interior design? 

FM: Our first interior model didn’t give us as much space as we wanted. Then at one stage, we had a convincing design model that just didn’t meet the aerodynamic requirements. Ultimately, we had to converge form and function. We used software that allowed to do real-time manipulation of the exterior to explore the different interior volumes. 

W*: Is the Purosangue a car you can use every day? 

FM: Of course. This is the Ferrari that was very much missing from our range. The practicality, the space – it’s very attractive. And it’s also a most beautiful driving experience, with space to share and enjoy it with your friends.

W*: What about the potential for personalisation? 

FM: Our Tailor Made division can do anything – it specialises in working with materials that are not traditionally automotive.  

W*: Did the Ferrari Purosangue given you new design opportunities?

FM: One of the most exciting aspect [of this car] is the new function. With our Berlinettas we are guided by some existing patterns. Here, it was all new, so you can imagine the permutations. Every single line and surface has been refined and refined. 

The Purosangue is not an SUV, as you can see, although it has some off-road ability, hill descent control and predictive four-wheel drive. Inside, we have used materials like a newly formulated Alcantara, derived from recycled polyester. In fact, 85 per cent of the launch trim for the car was sustainably produced. We also have this high-strength technical fabric used in military uniforms as an alternative to leather.

W*: How do you think it compares to the competition? 

FM: The Purosangue is smaller than other cars in this theoretical segment. It’s not the typically boxy car you think of when you think of an SUV. It’s agile and athletic. There is a wow effect – when you open all the doors you are surprised by the roominess of the cars. That was one of the main objectives that my team and I had to meet.

W*: Will this car change Ferrari? 

FM: No, because it will only account for 20 per cent of our production volume. Right now, it is aimed at current Ferrari owners. We’ll always produce one car less than demand. The Purosangue is the centre of gravity of the Ferrari range, the product that encapsulates the DNA of the brand. 

Ferrari.com

For industry watchers, Ferrari’s entry into what might loosely be called the SUV sector was a matter of when, not if. Despite repeated protestations from former CEO Luca di Montezemolo, the spectacle of rival brands creaming off Ferrari’s precious customer base with their, shall we say, more practical luxury performance offerings, eventually became too much to bear.

The Ferrari Purosangue has been five years in the making, with work beginning a couple of years after di Montezemolo departed in 2014. Incoming CEO, the late Sergio Marchionne, took the company public, ramped up general production and gave the green light to what has now been revealed to the world as the Purosangue. 

Remarkably, the new model’s arrival expands the Ferrari line-up to 12 cars, although convertible and track-focused variants of its core cars make up the extra numbers. To recap, Ferrari is best known for its two-seater mid-engined sports cars – Berlinettas – as well as larger, front-engined GT cars. It’s been that way for decades, with only the occasional off-the-books foray into wilder ideas.

At first glance, then, Purosangue indicates that Ferrari might become a rather more conventional car company. Check the price to put that right. Starting at over £300k, the Purosangue’s only monetary competition is the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. They are very different beasts indeed. Throw in a few extras and a spot of personalisation, courtesy of the company’s Tailor Made service, and the Purosangue’s price can easily creep up by another £100,000, a total outlay that’ll easily cover a couple of examples of some of the Purosangue’s closest ‘rivals’, leaving spare change for a few everyday runabouts. 

However, before you rush to sign up for this bold badge of exclusivity, remember that if you’ve not already been contacted by your friendly local Ferrari dealer, it’ll be a long wait before you can see a Purosangue on your drive. As always, this most oversubscribed of all car companies keeps its favourite customers close to its chest. 

Even though it commands such exalted prices (and therefore profits), Ferrari is nobly capping Purosangue production at just 20 per cent of its total sales volumes. In comparison, 42 per cent of Bentleys sold are Bentaygas, just under half of Aston Martin’s annual sales are DBX, while the Urus accounts for over half of all Lamborghinis shipped. This car is not about growing volumes, but about serving a very loyal clientele. 

Ferrari Purosangue: what can it do?

So what’s it like? The Purosangue has undeniable presence. It shares a shark-like front end treatment with the Roma, Ferrari’s current GT superstar and one of the prettiest cars to come out of Maranello in many years. The bigger car can’t match it for overall looks, but it does make a decent fist of translating the combination of high sides, low glasshouse and big, big wheels into a palatable confection. 

Purists, if they’re still paying any attention at all, should take note that Ferrari do not consider this car as an SUV. It’s also not really a crossover. ‘It’s a true Ferrari,’ we were told, and nothing in its design or engineering contradicts that, right down to bespoke elements of extreme and unwarranted complexity. 

The Purosangue might contain a number of Ferrari firsts, but it’s effectively a replacement for a couple of cars that were already deviating from the Maranello mould. In 2011, Ferrari revealed the FF, ‘the world's fastest four-seat automobile’ at launch. Offered with four-wheel drive (a first at the time), this 2+2 shooting break could also be described as a two-door estate car. Or even a ‘breadvan’, to use the unromantic appellation given to a sole iconic 250 GT SWB, converted unofficially by ex-Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and Pierre Drogo in the early 1960s with a fast-back. Ferrari only grudgingly gave the Breadvan a coveted ‘Certificate of Authenticity’ in 2010. It was replaced by the GTC4Lusso in 2016. 

There have been other even lower profile deviations. Ferrari is hot on authenticity, swift to deploy a cease-and-desist letter when someone modifies or otherwise messes around with its precious brand (if you own a Ferrari over 20 years old and want Ferrari Classiche to issue a precious Certificate, the process is arduous, exacting and expensive). Nevertheless, in the 1980s and 1990s, the company had a lucrative side business building ‘specials’ for the Brunei Royal Family, the nature of which regularly violated those sacred tenets.

Four-door saloons, estate cars, drivable concepts, non-standard colours – whatever their Royal Highnesses desired, they paid for. Of the several hundred cars Ferrari made for the bottomless pockets of Brunei were several estate cars based on the Ferrari 456 GT. The so-called Venice was designed and built by Pininfarina, and proved conclusively that you could have a beautiful estate car that was also a Ferrari. 

Go back even further, and there’s the elegant Pinin from 1980, another Pininfarina design, this time approved by Enzo Ferrari himself, a classically proportion three-box sedan with impossibly crisp lines and edges like the sharpest Italian suit. 

This little diversion serves to illustrate that the Purosangue doesn’t exist in a vacuum. And like its ultra-rare predecessors, it unequivocally performs like a modern Ferrari. Under that relatively short bonnet is Ferrari’s V12 engine, the beating heart of the company. Tucked way back in the body, so that half the cylinders are practically beneath the windscreen, the V12 goes without turbochargers and is mated to a four-wheel system developed from the one in the GTC4Lusso. Other technical tricks have been taken from Ferrari’s unending stream of special editions, like the four-wheel-steering found on the 812 Competizione.

In case you thought that Ferraris were analogue and direct and descended straight from the old school, the Purosangue’s armoury of acronyms will soon put you wrong. As gleaned from Ferrari’s 6,000-word press release, the following systems are at play, whether in the powertrain, engine or embedded in the dashboard: TASV, ESC, DCT, 4WS, ABS, ADAS, ACC, AEB, HBA/HBAM, LDW, LKA, BSD, RCTA, TSR, DDA, and NSW. Rather than untangle this linguistic spaghetti, all you need to know is that it goes and stops with the sensor-infused watchfulness of every other high-end luxury car.

Except there’s that tangible, irreplicable Ferrari difference. Chiefly that comes down to the V12, which always sounds full-throated and rich. The steering is immediately familiar and direct and that hoary old cliché of the sporting SUV – it doesn’t feel as heavy as it is – is very much in evidence. It’s not as edgy or as unhinged as a supercar, nor does it feel as lofty and insulated as a traditional SUV. To its credit, Ferrari hasn’t promised much in the way of off-road performance, with just the rather perfunctory inclusion of hill descent control.

The Purosangue is shorter and stubbier than almost all its other competitors, an indication of the extreme complexity of the packaging and the dovetailing of design and engineering from an early stage. The rear doors are rear-hinged (‘suicide’ style), opening up the cabin like a clamshell (and automatically closing as well – another Ferrari first). An optional glass roof adds even more space to an already generous passenger compartment. 

All four individual seats (there is no five-seat option due to the transmission) are heated and adjustable, with massage function available in the front. Front passengers also get their very own touch screen, which can be set up to show how masterfully your driver is performing or left to display the Spotify playlist. There is no navigation – Ferrari assumes you’ll be using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto instead.

Ironically, this is a combustion-engined car that starts to impede on the classic paradigm of the electric performance car, where you don’t use the power on tap because the energy depletion is just too overt and impractical. In the Purosangue’s case, if you’re using the practicality to the max, fully loaded with three passengers and their luggage, you don’t dare feel out the dynamic limits because you’ll nauseate your travel companions and spill their drinks. It’s also slightly disappointing to discover that the old GT4Lusso had similar interior and luggage space, as well as better performance figures, less weight and lower emissions. Instead, you get two more doors. There’s also a certain irony in promoting a Ferrari as a practical daily driver but launching it with a stonking great V12 – a plug-in hybrid will surely follow.

Is the Purosangue the thoroughbred Ferrari would have us believe? In every conceivable way, it has clearly tested the company to its limits, encouraged new ways of thinking and pushed its visual language in brave new directions. As full electrification approaches, the company will need more of these new paradigms with which to redefine its place in the world. Right now, the Purosangue is sitting pretty at the summit of desirability. Ferrari hopes very much it’ll stay that way. 

Ferrari Purosangue, from £313,120, Ferrari.com

Although it is renowned for the breadth and scope of its merchandising operation, Ferrari chooses its core design partners with extraordinary care. Those companies that are lucky enough to collaborate with the legendary Italian brand get the full attention of Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari's Chief Design Officer. We spoke to Manzoni about the latest object to bear the fabled Ferrari name, the Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3.

The two companies had previously worked together on a rollerball and fountain pen range that paid homage to Enzo Ferrari, part of Montblanc’s ‘Great Characters’ series. For the Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3, the bar was definitely raised. ‘This was an amazing, inspiring project,’ Manzoni told us, ‘it represents a bridge between two worlds.’ 

Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3

The new Montblanc is a fountain pen, created from light titanium (unusual for the company) and carrying some stylistic and technological elements unique to both brands. The car that inspired the collaboration is the 2021 Ferrari Daytona SP3, the second car in Ferrari’s limited edition Icona series of V12 mid-engine sports cars. The SP3’s wind tunnel-hewn form gives it a dramatic, dynamic look, and the pen’s lined accents are taken directly from the horizontal slats forms on the car’s front and rear bumpers (which in turn reference the 1980s-era Ferrari Testarossa). 

‘Whenever we start designing a new Ferrari, we create abstract forms that don’t necessarily even have four wheels,’ Manzoni explains. Divested from the demands of aerodynamics, the Stilema SP3 is a pure evocation is this form-finding process. ‘Every Ferrari contains technology, innovation and performance, but there is also beauty,’ the designer says. ‘It is a mix of science and art. Innovation is also key to design. Montblanc shares these values.’ 

The name, Stilema, means ‘style’, reflecting the core design elements that make an object instantly identifiable with its creator, whether it’s a fountain pen or a sports car. ‘While a writing instrument has a completely different function and construction to a car, our aim was to create a writing instrument that perfectly aligned with the philosophy and design language of the Prancing Horse, even before its technical qualities were revealed,’ says Montblanc’s CEO, Nicolas Baretzki. 

The pen’s defining feature, the red blade, took ‘months of research’, according to Manzoni, who describes the material as looking ‘as if it is illuminated’. Manzoni notes that a pen is an extremely balanced object, with successful function defined almost entirely by ergonomics. The blade slides back to reveal the hidden filling mechanism, and is specially developed in collaboration with Montblanc. It’s unlike anything used in a pen before and confirms Manzoni’s belief that ‘there is no design without innovation’. 

The pen also includes a handcrafted Au 750 solid white gold nib, designed to be perfect for writing and sketching. ‘Our focus was not only on fluidity of the form but also of function, emphasising the exceptional sensation of holding a high-calibre fountain pen,’ Manzoni says. ‘Not only is the ink fluid, but the pen supports the rapid movements of the hand as it writes, allowing thoughts to flow unimpeded.’

Ferrari’s Prancing Horse logo is laser-etched onto the cap, while the traditional Montblanc emblem is also crafted from white gold. The barrel itself exudes a monolithic solidity, with the section a slightly rounded trapezium form, complete with flattened surface to keep it correctly aligned when not in use. ‘It’s not a pen for the pocket, but a pen for the desk,’ says Manzoni. ‘Just like Ferrari, Montblanc creates exceptional objects of science and beauty. It’s about getting this balance correct to create something really pure.’  

Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3, available by special arrangement, details at Montblanc.com, Ferrari.com

This is the Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato, a cracking reminder of what the company is capable of and a fulsome throwback to the heady partnerships of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. This was the era of coachbuilding masterpieces, when the grand Italian styling houses found it in themselves to improve upon the already beautiful creations of companies like Ferrari, Alfa, and Lancia.

Sad to report, but this particular car is set to remain a one-off. Built for a German collector, the car broke cover just before Christmas 2022, an early gift for all those who still hold a candle for this golden era of car design. 

The idea for the Giulia SWB originated in 2021, the year Zagato celebrated a century of collaboration with Alfa Romeo. A commemorative car was planned, drawing on Alfa’s current Giulia and Stelvio models, but in the form of a two-door coupé – a niche that is sadly absent from today's Alfa Romeo line-up.

The new Zagato is based on the acclaimed Giulia Quadrifoglio performance model, with a shortened wheelbase (hence SWB) and bodywork formed from carbon fibre. The designated customer is a longstanding Alfaholic, as well as a fan of Aston Martin’s ongoing partnership with Zagato. His collection includes the Alfa Romeo SZ ('Sprint Zagato'), a quintessentially 1990s machine that took Alfa’s 75 saloon and transformed it into a brutish, stubby pocket supercar.

Visually, the SWB incorporates many key Zagato design elements, from the pronounced forward-focused stance to the trademark ‘double bubble’ roof, evolved from the requirement for early closed racing cars to have space for crash helmeted drivers.

Zagato’s team worked closely with Alejandro Mesonero, vice president of Alfa Romeo Design, but all development and production were carried out in-house. The famous Alfa grille is low to the ground, flanked by a new iteration of Alfa’s current 3+3 headlight identity. At the rear, the abruptly cut-off tail is another tell-tale signature of the brand.

Zagatos have always had an awkward, almost gawky edge, evidenced not only by the Alfa Romeo SZ, but also by earlier models like the GT 1300 Junior Zagato from 1969 and the TZ3 Stradale created for Alfa’s own centenary in 2011. Fittingly, the one-off Giulia SWB Zagato is a convincing heir to a century of extravagant and individualistic automotive design.

We’ve often lamented that Alfa Romeo’s contemporary soul is somewhat lacking, condemned to wander the highways and byways of nostalgia whilst the famous badge ends up plastered all over unworthy SUVs. Perhaps another Zagato collaboration could help rekindle Alfa’s flame? 

AlfaRomeo.co.uk

Zagato.it

There’s a seemingly endless desire for bespoke automobiles inspired by classic designs. Such ‘restomods’ are in near constant demand, whether they’re based on stripped-down and rebuilt originals or start from a clean sheet using some direct inspiration (see the Porsche-inspired 928 by Nardone Automotive).

This is the Competizione Ventidue: a hydrogen-fuelled, high performance, Ferrari restomod concept created by London-based design studio Forge Design. Right now, it’s only a concept, inspired in part by a bit of creative reimagining and alternative history-making. 

‘We wanted to reimagine the car that Miles Davis might have bought just after his album dropped,’ says Kieran Singleton, Forge Design’s managing director. ‘He was a huge Ferrari fan and loved driving fast in beautiful cars; this is imagined as the car he bought, enjoyed, upgraded and perhaps even raced.’

The source material – in addition to Davis’ music – is the 1961 Ferrari 250 SWB, in particular the highly refined ‘SEFAC Hot Rod’ variant, with ultra-light aluminium bodywork and a boosted engine. The car was a class-winner at Le Mans in 1961, helping solidify the 250’s status as the ultimate classic car investment (examples sell at auction for upwards of $8m).

Perhaps mindful of the hefty investment needed to get its venture off the ground, Forge Design has gone all-out for technologies that haven’t yet hit the mainstream. These include a hydrogen-burning engine and composite bodywork.

Ventidue (‘22’ in Italian) is more attuned to the last days of the 1950s, with the designers citing 1959 as the year of peak inspiration. This was when the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB was launched at the Paris Motor Show (the racing car’s ‘spiritual ancestor’), the year Frank Lloyd Wright’s posthumous masterpiece, the New York Guggenheim, opened its doors, and the year Davis’ Kind of Blue was released.

‘We’ve always loved the classic lines of the Ferrari 250 GT SWB, and after seeing a growth in the number of restomod projects recently, really wanted to have a go at our own,’ says Forge’s design director David Seesing. The studio is using the concept to promote its skills at conceptual design, rendering, and modelling. 

The Ventidue makes for a striking calling card, but it’s not the only 250 GT SWB restomod out there – British specialist manufacturer RML can build a bespoke ‘Short Wheelbase’ right now, for around £1.6m.

WeForge.design

CompVentidue.com

RMLGroup.com

This is the new Ferrari Purosangue, perhaps the most controversial model in the Italian marque’s 75-year history. Whatever you do, don’t call it an SUV, because Ferrari doesn’t. There will also be howls of protest from the faithful who still hold former CEO Luca di Montezemolo's dictum that the company would not, under any circumstances, venture down the popular and profitable SUV route. The thinking was that Ferrari was and is a sports car company, and that no SUV would ever darken the factory gates at Maranello. 

On paper, the new model offers a set of production figures that make it hard to distinguish from the company’s mid- and front-engined sports cars (a substantial portfolio that includes the ‘core’ 296 GTB and GTS, the SF90 Stradale and Spider and the impossibly elegant Roma).

With a V12 engine putting out 716Nm of power (capable of hauling this beast to 62mph in 3.3 seconds), it’s unashamedly old-fashioned in outlook. Ferrari is a pioneer in hybrid sports car design, but this particular machine won't get electrified for a while. 

If anything, the Purosangue resembles an expanded and lifted version of Ferrari’s 812 GTS, although the model it replaces is the GTC4Lusso, Ferrari’s last big four-seat tourer. That car ceased production in 2020; before it, came the Ferrari FF and the bug-eyed but brilliant 612 Scaglietti (an example of which Wallpaper* once got to customise, courtesy of the factory).

The focus has been on raw sports cars for many years, so this car is a major departure.

There have been four-seater Ferraris since 1960, when the company revealed the 250 GT/E. Since then, there have been a number of four seaters bearing the prancing horse, some classic, some controversial, but never any four door models (unless you count aftermarket conversions and the extremely elegant one-off Ferrari Pinin concept from 1980). 

The Purosangue’s second set of doors are rear-hinged (‘suicide’ doors, to use the industry term). They give access to two full-size rear seats (it’s a strict four-seater), although there is a hefty central B-pillar to give the body the stiffness that such power and sportiness demand.

The company calls the interior ambiance a ‘Ferrari Lounge’, and it’s far removed from a cramped, noisy cockpit. There’s four-wheel drive and an elevated ride height but the company is making no claims for any dedicated off-road ability. 

The cockpit gives the driver a low, sporty seating position and the usual overly complex Ferrari interface (together with a touch screen dedicated to the front passenger use).

Interestingly there’s no satnav; the company assumes customers will want to use the more up-to-date functionality on their phones instead. 

With pricing expected to be just shy of €400,000, the Ferrari Purosangue is pitched quite high above its most obvious rivals like the Lamborghini Urus and the Aston Martin DBX 707. It’s even pricier than Bentley’s most elaborate Bentayga and the Cullinan, Rolls-Royce’s first attempt at an SUV. As a result, the company can assert that the Purosangue isn’t a luxury SUV because it’s not priced remotely like one.

Even at these heights, Ferrari still expects to sell several thousand Purosangues each year, taking it to its factory-limited production capacity of 15,000 cars with ease. In fact, waiting lists are so over-subscribed that the company has already said it might have to close the order list early. If anyone can create mass-produced personal transportation that nudges the half-million euro mark, it’s Ferrari. 

It's ironic that the biggest departure from the company’s tried and tested formula should come right at the very tail-end of the internal combustion era. Although electric vehicles promise greater design diversity, car makers are still loath to break out of existing categories. Ferrari is being bloody-minded in its disavowal of the SUV but also somewhat brave.

As a result, you can expect other luxury manufacturers to start broadening their horizons in the near future. Who will be the first volume car maker to take a similar path?

INFORMATION

Ferrari Purosangue, from €390,000

Ferrari.com

In a collaboration with Ferrari, Richard Mille has released the RM UP-01. Measuring in at a mere 1.75mm thick, it is billed as being the ‘thinnest mechanical watch in the world’, dethroning previous record holder the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra by a whole 0.05mm. Production is limited to just 150 units on the piece which combines a futuristic aesthetic with a traditional architecture, with the movement painstakingly assembled inside the case.

For technical director for movements at Richard Mille, Salvador Arbona, the piece is ‘far from being a ‘concept watch’ and is ‘up to the task of following a wearer’s daily life, whatever the circumstances’, thanks to a case which was developed for over 2000 hours, made of Grade 5 titanium and capable of withstanding 5000Gs, yet only weighing 30 grams, including the strap.

More than 6,000 hours were spent on development and laboratory testing, with Richard Mille utilising the laboratories of Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, Switzerland on the project. The resulting technical accomplishment has a 45-hour power reserve and is water resistant up to 10 metres. ‘For such a project, it was necessary to set aside all the knowledge we had amassed over years of practice, and every conceivable standard of watchmaking,’ says technical director for cases at Richard Mille, Julien Boillat. ‘This is precisely what we did throughout our collaboration with the laboratories of Audemars Piguet Le Locle. Shaving off those last millimetres of depth was an extremely demanding and lengthy process.’

INFORMATION
richardmille.com

In the wake of the recently launched 2022 Range Rover, an all-new Range Rover Sport appears to cater to those who seek a bit more dynamic scope to their monumental driving machine.

The original Range Rover Sport arrived all the way back in 2005, forging the way for the ‘Range Rover’ name to become a sub-brand in its own right, leaving Land Rover to produce slightly less sybaritic, more action/family orientated vehicles. Range Rover subsequently expanded still further with the introduction of the 2011 Evoque (now in its second generation) and the 2018 Velar.

The original Range Rover Sport was superseded by a second-generation model in 2013, which saw the introduction of hybrid power and performance versions.

This is generation three. Whereas the flagship Range Rover is pushing ever further upmarket and transforming itself into a real competitor for Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Maybach, the Sport’s targets are somewhat faster moving. For now, ultra-performance SUVs are still big sellers – the Aston Martin DBX, Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne, and forthcoming Ferrari Purosangue to name but four.

Crucially, for the most part, these cars rely on traditional engines, not electric powertrains – even hybrid performance SUVs are thin on the ground. The next generation – in the form of the Lotus Eletre and others – is readying itself in the wings.

As a result, the Range Rover Sport is designed to have its cake and eat it. From the outset, there’ll be a plug-in hybrid, a mild hybrid petrol and diesel, as well as a high-performance twin-turbo V8. Come 2024, there’ll be a pure EV as well. Whether this model’s sporting character can be sustained across such a broad range of powertrains remains to be seen.

For now, all we have to go on is the design. In truth, this is more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Around three-quarters of a million Sports have been built so far, so the formula isn’t due for a shake-up – just yet. The new car shares the same basic proportions as its predecessors, with a relatively shallow glasshouse and steeply raked windscreen (as opposed to the more upright stance of the larger Range Rover). The most obvious visual difference is a general smoothing out of the lines, with a flush glasshouse and door handles, and slimmer lights and grilles at the front. The rear elevation gets the most dramatic overhaul, with a sleeker, more minimal layout that adheres to the company’s much-vaunted ‘modernist philosophy’ of design.

Inside, the dashboard splices screens and buttons to functional effect, with the full raft of Range Rover’s off-road functions still very much present and correct. It’s regularly pointed out that the more luxurious and lifestyle-orientated the company’s designs get, the less likely they are to be ever taken off-road.

Suffice to say, this reality doesn’t seem to have diminished Range Rover’s desire to make its vehicles truly ‘go-anywhere’, and the Sport continues this tradition. The new ‘Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control’ system, for example, lets you set your speed over practically any type of terrain on the planet and the car will do the rest (as long as you remember to steer). 

The 2023 Range Rover Sport promises to be all things to everyone, in other words. Most usefully, perhaps, is the real-world range of 460 miles that the plug-in hybrid model delivers.

Sporting luxury is all very well, but the ability to travel far and wide will always be a strong selling point.

INFORMATION

New Range Rover Sport, from £79,125

rangerover.com

Jony Ive and Marc Newson gear up with Ferrari

Jony Ive and Marc Newson of creative collective LoveFrom are joining forces with Exor, Ferrari’s holding company, for a long-term, multi-year partnership.

According to Exor’s announcement, released on 27 September 2021, ‘the first expression of this new partnership will bring together Ferrari's legendary performance and excellence, with LoveFrom’s unrivalled experience and creativity that has defined extraordinary world-changing products’. 

The partnership represents LoveFrom’s first major project beyond Silicon Valley, a highly anticipated move from the creative collective. Comprising designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, writers, engineers and artists, LoveFrom was founded in 2019 after Ive left the chief design officer role at Apple. It maintains a close relationship with Apple (its first customer), and began to work with Airbnb last year to design the sharing economy platform’s next generation of goods and services.

Jony Ive and Marc Newson gear up with Ferrari

Says John Elkann, chairman and chief executive of Exor and chairman of Ferrari: ‘Soon after LoveFrom was founded, we began to talk with Jony and Marc about opportunities to combine their world-renowned creativity with ours in complementary and incremental ways. Ferrari represents a first exciting chance to do great things together as we build our future.’

Ferrari had previously confirmed that it would launch its first all-electric car in 2025, anticipating the European Union’s effective ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035 – so LoveFrom is poised to make its mark on the luxury carmaker at a historic moment.

Add Ive and Newson: ‘As Ferrari owners and collectors, we could not be more excited about collaborating with this extraordinary company, and in particular with the design team, expertly led by Flavio Manzoni. We see some uniquely exciting opportunities of working together.’

The Ferrari partnership follows a flurry of high-profile design collaborations by the carmaker. In 2017, it celebrated its 70th anniversary with a blockbuster exhibition ‘Under the Skin’, with 3D design by Patricia Urquiola; while the following year saw the publication of a monograph, published by Taschen and enclosed in an aluminium engine-inspired case designed by Newson. An ambitious brand diversification project rolled out earlier this year, with a fashion collection overseen by Rocco Iannone, formerly of Pal Zileri, and a new flagship store in Maranello, Italy, by Sybarite.

LoveFrom’s next steps

Beyond the Ferrari collaboration, ‘LoveFrom will explore a range of creative projects with Exor in the business of luxury’, says the announcement, fuelling speculation about next steps. Other brands in the Exor portfolio include Italian football team Juventus, Italian media conglomerate Gedi, Chinese luxury fashion label Shang Xia, and Britain’s The Economist Group; collectively they could offer a wide range of possibilities for design innovation.

Exor additionally announced that Ive would join its Partners Council, an annual forum that ‘draws on the experience, expertise and insights of a group of highly successful Exor friends and partners to share ideas and explore potential business opportunities’.

Daniel Arsham loves cars. He also likes eroding stuff. It’s this alluring (yet apocalyptic) combination that gives his latest show, ‘Turning Wrenches’ at Library Street Collective in Detroit, so much fuel. 

Arsham has produced intensely detailed 1:3 scale replicas of supercars and other automotive artefacts as a tribute to the Detroit automotive industry and global car culture. There are also homages to the film industry, where the choice of a character’s vehicle is often an extension of their personality.

The miniature Mustang in the exhibition is a scale replica of the 1968 Ford Mustang GT that Steve McQueen drove during the gripping car chase in the film Bullitt. Elsewhere, a Ferrari references the 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and a bronze iteration of a DMC DeLorean (the famed time machine in 1985 sci-fi film Back to the Future) take things up a gear. 

The Delorean also speaks to the role of time in Arsham’s work, which nods to a simultaneous past and future. When a car begins to erode, it’s usually an indication of a one-way trip to the scrap heap. And while industrial objects inevitably fall victim to time, Arsham’s approach to decay offers his cars new life, with strategically placed erosions erupting with dazzling masses of crystals.

This show, staged in Library Street Collective’s Snarkitecture-designed space, is an ode to the laborious and culturally rich automobile trade, appetising eye candy for petrolheads, and an exploration of how the fragility of man-made objects can collide with the tenacity of geological material. 

Daniel Arsham on the drive behind his new turbo-charged show

Wallpaper*: What is so exciting about cars, and car culture, and when did this fascination begin?

Daniel Arsham: I’ve had a fascination with cars in general since I was a kid. Cars, to me, have always had an ability to create a sense of time travel. You can get into a perfectly restored car from the 1970s or 1990s, and there’s a very visceral sense of what it felt like to drive in those eras.

I was also drawn to Porschefrom an early age, which led to me eventually purchasing and restoring a 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo. A replica of the restored Porsche, re-interpreted as a 930A, is featured in the exhibition at Library Street Collective as a 1:3 scale replica.

W*: How did you decide which car models to base these sculptures on? 

DA: All of the sculptures on view at Library Street Collective are based on iconic car models. For example, the Ferrari is the car most famously used in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and the DMC DeLorean is famous in its own right for its use in Back to the Future. All of these cars are part of automobile history but also cinematic history. 

The star of the show is the 1968 Ford Mustang GT from Steve McQueen’s movie Bullitt. I worked with the film’s prop master to create a one-to-one scaled model. The final eroded version consists of volcanic ash, pyrite crystal, and white quartz. 

There is also the connection to the history of Detroit, which is inextricably linked to automotive design. John DeLorean was an American car executive who, after leaving General Motors, formed his own company, the DeLorean Motor Company. We also included the Ford Mustang, a Detroit icon introduced in 1964 that revolutionised American cars.

W*: What was the most challenging part of creating this new series?

DA: The most complex piece in the exhibition is the cast of the Ferrari. It’s composed of 35 pieces that all had to be cast individually and then assembled together. Any time you make an object that has an interior and exterior, it becomes much more complex. 

W*: You're a passionate car collector. If you had to choose one car in your collection, which would it be and why?

DA: If I had to choose one car, it would be the 1973 Porsche Carrera 2.7 RS. It’s a legendary car and one I was able to acquire a year and a half ago. It’s truly a ‘supercar’ from that era – it had the largest engine at the time, and driving it is an incredible, visceral experience. It’s also not as insular as modern cars, so you sense every turn, every aspect of the engine, and the transfer of power from the engine to the road.

INFORMATION
Daniel Arsham: ‘Turning Wrenches’, until 7 August 2021, Library Street Collective, Detroit, lscgallery.com
danielarsham.com

ADDRESS

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Fortune favours the brave. The 1970s were an era of mid-engine madness, when the big sports car makers explored the packaging options of putting the engine behind the driver, allowing for better balance, sleeker aerodynamics, and — most importantly of all — more outrageous styling. Some of the greatest Italian cars of the era benefitted from this layout, from Ferrari’s first mid-engine road car, the 1971 Berlinetta Boxer, through to the angular Lamborghini Countach that ushered in the supercar era. Their compatriots, Maserati, made a similar transition from front-engine sports cars and grand tourers to low-slung two-seaters, with the introduction of the 1971 Bora and its successor, the Merak (actually a four-seater, albeit with very small rear seats). For Maserati, it was an expensive foray into new territory. The 70s fuel crisis, a short but ultimately disastrous spell of ownership by the French marque Citroen, and perpetual cash flow problems meant that Maserati was never able to capitalise on the super sports genre, and the company that ultimately emerged focused almost exclusively on sports GTs and saloons. In 1993 Maserati reconnected with its Italian ancestry with its sale to Fiat and the company has been part of the FCA Group (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) since 2011.

Now the mid-engine Maserati is back in the form of the MC20. Unveiled in early September, it is the car to take Maserati into a new decade, as well as being the first all-new product from the company since the launch of the Ghibli in 2013. On the one hand, it’s a spiritual evolution of a very limited-edition machine, the MC12 Stradale, a raw road-going version of GT racer, developed from the Ferrari Enzo in 2004 of which just 50 examples were made. But on the other it’s a challenger to the status quo established by Ferrari and Lamborghini and soon Aston Martin.

The Maserati Corse 2020 is about speed, dynamics and power. Built around a carbon-fibre monocoque, the MC20 is pared back and functional, inside and out. It exudes a compact, taut capability, and the white finish on the show car’s bodywork is a world away from the glossy, shouty reds and yellows of its rivals. Scissor doors allow access to a dark, focused cockpit, with plenty of exposed carbon-fibre and Alcantara finishes. The audio system was designed in conjunction with Sonus Faber, the acclaimed Italian loudspeaker manufacturers, and is controlled via a dash-mounted tablet. The car will debut with a twin turbo V6, with a hybrid and pure electric version further down the line.

We spoke to Klaus Busse, the man who heads up FCA’s design team, overseeing Fiat, Abarth, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo, as well as Maserati, about the origins and aspirations for the company’s new model

Wallpaper*: This is the first mid-engine Maserati production car for many years. Did you take inspiration from the past or is it a clean sheet design?

Klaus Buss: When it comes to designing a car, how clean sheet can the design really be? If I were to describe the design philosophy behind the MC20 in two words, they would be Purity and Contrast. As you can see from the car, the design is all about purity contrasted by extremely complex functional areas. One of our main inspirations for the MC20 came from the A6GCS Pinin Farina of the 1950s. This car in fact, is naturally pure and beautifully sculpted, creating a silhouette praised for its simplicity, which is then contrasted by the exposed exhaust pipes underneath the driver’s door showcasing its high degree of functionality. This is the same design philosophy used for the MC20 where the upper part of the car is all about purity and sculptural simplicity, while the lower part is true technical performance.

W*: What about more recent examples from the company’s history?

KB: MC20’s design philosophy was not the only thing that was born by looking back into Maserati’s past: there are some details in this new super sports car that are echoes from the past. For example, the new face of Maserati – as in with the low front grill and the high headlights – were inspired by the MC12. MC20 represents not only an ode to the brand’s past achievements but is also the face of Maseratis of the future.

W*: How long has this car been in planning?

KB: The development period for the MC20 was about 24 months.

W*: What are the key visual elements that define a mid-engine Maserati?

KB: There are no key elements that are specific to a mid-engine Maserati, but there are key visual elements that define the MC20 and Maserati’s aesthetic future. As mentioned, our design philosophy is driven by purity. For the MC20, this translated in creating something with no frills, no excess, and no unnecessary details. We tried to avoid visual noise, in order for the car to speak for itself. We did not design it around the air intakes; on the contrary, we restrained ourselves and have them only where they are absolutely necessary. By doing so, we now have a car that is a pure sculpture reduced to the main proportions. A car that does not need to shout at its environment through loud detailing, but truly stands out for raw beauty and capabilities.

W*: How does the design express the technology of the launch V6 and possible future powertrains?

KB: The MC20, being a super sports car in every inch of its design, was created by respecting and embracing technological and performance necessities. Whether it is the silhouette of the car that defines the cabin space, or the aerodynamic flow and the downforce of the car, Maserati has brought to the market a dynamic sculpture, powered V6 twin turbo petrol engine, which will propel the brand into the future. In addition, one should notice the balance between the pure elegance of the silhouette and the integrated air intakes, which are needed to supply the necessary cooling and the thermal exhaust to the V6. However, it is fundamental to keep in mind that the true expression of MC20 is in the incredible collaboration and teamwork we had with the engineers in Modena.

INFORMATION

maserati.com

Also see the 2024 Maserati MC20 Leggenda and Icona, two limited-edition supercars

The Ferrari Maranello plant is not quite what you might expect of a supercar factory. White stones and water elements, and abundant bamboo provide a sense of peace and calm. There are over 200 trees planted on this site, many inside the factory. There is some automation, yet most of the car making is carried out by hand with a strong focus on recycling materials where possible. The home of Ferrari feels young and vibrant. It is also a bit of an architectural wonder with buildings by Jean Nouvel, Massimiliano Fuksas, and Renzo Piano’s dramatic wind tunnel dotted around this historical site.

The latest addition is Centro Stile design centre, which opened in September 2018 to house around a hundred vehicle designers, digital surface modellers, colour and trim specialists. We caught up with Ferrari design director Flavio Manzoni to see how the building will impact the marque.

Wallpaper*: On arriving at Ferrari nine years ago, you set out to establish an internal design team to be based at Maranello. This is all very new for Ferrari, a marque accustomed to collaborating with external teams from Pininfarina, Zagato and other Italian design studios. How do you see Centro Stile impacting on your future work?
Flavio Manzoni: It is a new way of working for us – a new reality for Ferrari. In the past many clients would request a unique Ferrari, and it was normal to assign design to one of the coachbuilders. Step-by-step, Ferrari is realising the importance of working together as a company, creating a process that involves interaction between design and engineering. The studio allows us to inspire the creative team and the engineers with our visions. It also helps us to discuss our ideas with management at the start of each project, and to find solutions that answer our imagination.

W*: You personally collaborated with architect Davide Padoa of Design International on the design of Centro Stile, an impressive 1,600 sq m structure of complex concave and convex surfaces, boasting a double-skin façade of triangular glass and gilded aluminium. What drove you creatively?
FM: Initially we thought of doing a functional building, but the design evolved to be more sculptural. Our objective was to create a ‘wow’ effect – a surprise when you walk in from the old Ferrari entrance to the Maranello site. There is great precision in its construction, and there is a strong relationship between the form of the building and our cars. The surfaces suggest Ferrari design with these concave and convex surfaces and the interplay between light and shadow. The second skin gives an amazing pattern and works well as a filter to the outside world.

W*: This part of northern Italy, Modena and Emilia-Romagna where Enzo Ferrari was born, produces some of the finest ingredients in Italian food, and it is a region renowned for its gifted artisans and dedication to the craft of making. What impact does the location have on how you work?
FM: A lot. We use real sculptors here to give a human touch to surfaces because for Ferrari technology is not the final objective. At Ferrari form follows function but with an artistic appeal and the imagination to create an organic shape that connects with its function. It is about making timeless design.

W*: The Ferrari family has evolved in recent years to include cars like the latest Portofino grand tourer. Created to be more of an everyday drive-around, this model and the California that came before, have opened the marque to a much broader customer group. With the family expanding, how different is it to direct the two road-car production lines: the sports series and GT?
FM: One of my jobs is to clearly identify the two series. The sports cars are technically driven, so performance is pushed to such a high level that the design needs to incorporate a great many technical solutions to reach the goal. The GTs, on the other hand, are design focused – they are elegant and refined. For example, the 250 GTO, the Daytona, or even the Ferrari Monza, have a certain elegance and a purity to their shapes.

W*: Each floor of Centro Stile studio is dedicated to one element of design – sketching, modelling, presenting and bespoke – including the Atelier areas and Tailor Made personalisation department where your clients can intricately customise their cars with the design team. How important is personalisation to Ferrari?
FM: Tailor Made is increasingly a very important area for the company. It gives us designers the opportunity to create unique identities for our cars. The commissions can also challenge us to work with new materials and exciting shapes as the process is very experimental. Our customers are passionate about Ferrari, and make the experience very interesting for us.

W*: You were trained as an architect in Florence where you also specialised in industrial design. As a car designer, you have worked with a wide range of brands too – at Fiat, Lancia and Maserati, and within the Volkswagen Group where you helped shape some inventive city cars, such as the brilliant Up. How has your background helped shape how you approach car design at Ferrari?
FM: What we do at Ferrari design is multi-disciplinary and we are constantly inspired by other fields. I learnt a great deal from working at other car manufacturers. For instance, Volkswagen showed me how the Germans think and work. I loved making mass production city cars, and the Up was a great project inspired by city objects. I believe I bring this way of thinking with me to Ferrari.

W*: At the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena you currently have on display the most collectible Ferrari GTs of all time, gathered here for the ‘Timeless Masterpieces’ exhibition. It is a visual feast seeing early models such as the 1948 166 Inter, 1954 750 Monza, the 1960s 250 GTO and 635 GTS4, to name a few, all displayed with product designs that also represent each period.
FM: Yes, we have tried to represent the spirit of the time with displays of products which helped shape the landscape of each period. When I look around at the GT cars on display, I can’t help to think how much each car was influenced by the design and social culture of their time.

W*: In 2013, Ferrari showed us its first hybrid, the limited-edition LaFerrari. Now, at the end of May, you will announce your first true hybrid-electric series production car. What can you reveal at this stage?
FM: I promise it will be really unique – the first series production Ferrari to drive on low emissions but with outstanding performance. Ferrari has always pushed the limits of automotive design and represented the pinnacle of vehicle technology. We have a constant quest to reach the ultimate step and this will never stop. Which means every new car must surpass our own expectations, and you will see this with the new hybrid car.

W*: How do you see Ferrari – a marque imbued in the exotic of the motor car, the promise of driving pleasure and performance – maintain its distinctive values in the post-combustion age?
FM: Not easily. For me Ferrari is a symbiosis of man and machine and hedonistic pleasure. If life is about the experience, then Ferrari offers an exceptional quality of life. Our identity is based on what is the most beautiful Ferrari: the next one. But then, when we talk about Ferrari, we always consider three fundamental components – technological innovation, the pleasure of driving, and beauty. So, the aspect of innovation is always fundamental to Ferrari design.

W*: Will we see a self-driving Ferrari in the future?
FM: Autonomous driving is about mobility, which is not something connected with Ferrari. If we lose the pleasure of driving, the relation between human and machine, then there is no Ferrari.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Ferrari website

Not content with taking over London's Design Museum for a 50-year retrospective, Ferrari is now getting the full-on Taschen monograph treatment. With unrestricted access to the iconic Italian marque's extensive archives, this is a book for the enthusiast, the completist and the collector – and few car manufacturers have more rabid sets of all three. Called simply Ferrari, it's also a boost to the legend that is Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988), a manufacturer who began his career as a triumphant racing driver and team leader and who remains a totemic figure in car design. Enzo embodied Ferrari, for all his passion and foibles and the company's idiosyncratic ways can still be traced back to the sheer bloody-minded determination of him, his drivers, engineers and designers.

Those pictures provide an unstoppable beauty parade, of course, for Ferrari has had very few aesthetic misfires over the course of 50 years. The company has always tracked fashion as well as occasionally defining it, employing the skills of Italy's finest car designers – Pininfarina, Giugiaro, Scaglietti – and finding the sweet spot between performance, aerodynamics and sheer aesthetic perfection. Throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the company was responsible for some of the most enduringly beautiful cars ever made, both on and off the track (the book includes a comprehensive appendix of Ferrari's racing history). It helps, too, that Ferrari regularly comes in top of investment lists like the Coutts Passion Index, as the vanishing rarity and aching beauty of cars like the 250 GTO continue to outperform every other kind of fund; a 250 GTO sold in June for $70m.

Detail of the Marc Newson-designed aluminium slipcase

That collectability is also referenced in the monograph's presentation, a Taschen speciality. Just 1,947 copies are being printed in total – referencing the year of the company's founding. The German publisher has turned to one of its regular collaborators Marc Newson for a spot of auto-related extravagance. Newson is a renowned car enthusiast and collector, and for Taschen he has pulled out all the stops.

The ‘regular' edition gets a Newson-designed aluminium slipcase, referencing the marque's many years of experience with the ultra-light material, as well as Newson's own penchant for it, while the Art Edition receives its own camply iconic stand. Just 250 of the copies will get the Art Edition treatment, each mounted on a massive sculptural stand inspired by Ferrari's legendary 12-cylinder engine. The Rossa corsa and chromed steel object will make the same kind of statement in your library as a Ferrari does on the street, just as Enzo always intended.

INFORMATION

Ferrari, edited by Pino Allievi. Collector’s Edition, £4,500. Art Edition, £22,500. For more information, visit the Taschen website

The sun blessed all three days of Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza this year – despite the threat of looming nearby thunderstorms – helping to make the 2018 edition of the elite classic car and bike show held on the shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy one of its best. The recipe for the annual late-May weekend event is simple: Firstly, choose a small selection of the rarest vehicular transportation from the early 20th century to now – just 56 cars and 34 bikes were entered this year, from powerhouse marques that straddle much of, if not all of that period, like Bentley, Ferrari and Porsche, to deceased brands from the past (Isotta Fraschini) and newcomers as well (Genesis).

Secondly, ask each owner to take turns to ride or drive (or in some of the older classic car cases, be pushed!) from their lawn or gravel pitch to loop around the stunning Villa d’Este and promenade in front of a special design jury and the show-going public. Finally, get the jury and public to cast their votes and award various prizes, based on provenance, rarity, authenticity… and of course beauty.

This year’s car winners were unusually all Italian, including a 1958 Ferrari 335 Sport Spider with coachwork by Scaglietti (the Jury’s Best of Show); a 1968 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale with bodywork by Scaglione (the visiting Public’s Best of Show); the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero concept with bodywork by Gandini (Young People under 16’s top gun); and the 2018 Ferrari SP38 designed by Manzoni (the Public’s Concept Car winner). On the bike side of things, the 1948 Moto Major was applauded by the professionals (Jury’s Best of Show); the Nottingham-born 1939 Brough Superior SS80, with its immaculate pin-striped side car, claimed the public Best of Show vote and a 1907 Indian Twin-Cylinder took the Jury’s special prize.

From big-engined 1920s behemoths to 1950s beach buggies then, to 1960s and 1970s Formula 1 racing cars and Noughties electric concept cars and bikes, there was an exotic automotive flavour for everyone. Read on for Wallpaper’s highlights…

Marc Newson’s 1934 Bugatti 59
Owners of rare classics at Villa d’Este tend to be more wealthy than well-known, but Australian product designer Marc Newson is, like Ralph Lauren at Villa d’Este events in previous years, perhaps an exception (while neither are exactly poor). Either way, Newson’s automotive taste is clearly on point, his 1934 Bugatti 59 Grand Prix car winning its early motor racing-inspired class category.

2018 BMW Concept 9Cento
BMW usually launches a concept car and concept bike at Villa d’Este as the wider BMW Group organises the modern event, but this year there was only the BMW Concept 9Cento motorbike (plus a brief glimpse of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan). Edgar Heinrich, design director of BMW Motorrad told Wallpaper* that the Concept 9Cento’s purpose was to ‘up the desirability factor of a touring bike’ normally known more for their long-distance practicality rather than wow factor. Based on an existing chassis and engine, the design process was a super-quick four months and in a nod to the need for touring bike practicality, the Concept 9Cento also features clip-on-and-off panniers (shown here small, but with bigger options envisioned).

2018 Genesis Essentia concept
First shown at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, Hyundai’s upmarket brand Genesis chose Villa d’Este to take its latest Essentia concept out into the open and bask in the sunshine by the side of Lake Como. The combined talents of Luc Donckerwolke (ex-Bentley and Lamborghini), SangYup Lee (ex-Bentley and GM) and Alexander Selipanov (ex-Bugatti) created this all-electric GT concept and its clean and curvaceous exterior looked right at home among the classics on show.

1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I
It’s the gold plating accents that adorn all the visible metal parts of this otherwise glossy black 1929 Phantom mk1’s exterior that catch the attention initially, but arguably its most delightful element – and surely the best automotive interior detail at 2018’s Villa d’Este – is the incredibly intricate wooden rear-door cabin panel. Featuring a built-in Rolls-Royce timepiece, artistic wood inlay and vertical slots for what look like two cut-glass perfume bottles, a book plus an ornate vanity mirror, the level of skill and refinement is incredible.

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este website

May was a busy month in the automobile industry, with marques far and wide launching refreshed models from well-loved lines, as well as especially eye-catching one-off releases. Stylish saloons, stoic SUVs, nimble urban navigators and stealthy supercars captured our attention at Wallpaper* – explore our selection of the best releases of the month, and be sure to read our full features for in-depth reviews.

Ferrari SP38

Another rabbit pulled from the Ferrari hat, the Special Project 38 (joining the marque’s One-Off division) is something genuinely unique – built to order with close collaboration with a dedicated customer. The Ferraristi will recognise the basic proportions of the company’s mid-engined flagship 488 GTB, with a bodywork inspired by the legendary F40 model and hints of earlier models such as the snubby 1970s GT4. Intended for both road and track, the SP38 will most likely find itself an impressive investment, a project bringing a loyal customer to the heart of the brand whilst adding another chapter to Ferrari’s ever expanding design history.

Volvo XC40

Explicitly positioned as a ‘designer object’, Volvo XC40 is relatively compact, undeniably trim and a very pleasant place to sit. A beautifully tailored interface is fast and intuitive, akin to those found in its larger siblings the XC60 and XC90. The bodywork is a little more expressive, featuring a chunky, blade-like D-pillar that kicks up from the backdoor and dovetails into Volvo’s signature arrow-like rear lights. Volvo imbues its decades-long heritage into the XC40, values of safety, solidarity and stoic simplicity, all of which it lives up to.

Bentley Continental GT

Bentley Continental GT has sold over 65,000 units since 2003. For the latest model, engineers were still tweaking the gearbox right up until the last minute, illustrating the amount of time invested into making the new model just right. Exterior proportions bring to mind the best in Italian and French car design from the 60s and 70s, whereas inside, technology and tradition meet at tactile switches and dials, metals and woods. Whilst throttle response and steering isn’t razor sharp, the available power and unflusterable balance make it delightful to push, with a top speed of 207 mph and reaching 0 – to 60 in around 3.6 seconds.

Volkswagen Up GTI

VW continues to excel at building small cars in an age where SUVs, saloons and supercars are all the rage. Small, light and peppy, VW Up is a piece of near-perfect packaging, with 115 PS eked out of a 1 litre 3-cylinder engine, a six speed gearbox, powerful hi-fi and heated seats. On the flip side, the Up does away with the touchscreen, reasoning that you’d rather use your smartphone in place of an integrated system (however, VW need to update their phone cradle so it takes the current generation of smartphones). Amazingly economical, the Up delivers a purist experience, and is the embodiment of old school fun.

Audi RS4 Avant

The new Audi RS4 demonstrates that the attraction of stealth performance is still undiminished. Joining the RS branch of the Audi family tree (reserved for ‘racing sport’ models), the latest RS4 features a twin turbo-charged V6 engine, making it a relentlessly quick and efficient machine, with extremely fast handling and power delivery best deployed for lightning-fast overtaking manouevers. Sufficient refinement makes everyday use a pleasure and not a grinding chore – some owners will seek out every opportunity to put the car through its paces on the track, whereas for others, it’s the knowledge that absolute power is available in such a convincing and capable package.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit our Cars tagpage

Ferrari have pulled another rabbit from the hat with the surprise release of the new SP38. The SP denotes Special Project and is indicative of how the Maranello-based manufacturer spends its time when its not building its acclaimed range of sports car. Such special projects are the reserve of the company’s One-Off division, built to order with close collaboration with a dedicated – and hugely wealthy – customer to create something that’s genuinely unique.

The new Ferrari SP38 takes inspiration from the F40 model

The SP38 is certainly that. Ferraristi will recognise the basic proportions of the company’s current mid-engined flagship, the 488 GTB, which forms the chassis and the drivetrain. On top of that, the bodywork is all-new and defiantly different. Taking prime inspiration from the legendary F40 model, there are hints of other earlier models, including the snubby GT4 of the 1970s. Imagine the amount of time and effort Ferrari’s team of designers, engineers and aerodynamicists put into every ‘regular’ model and then distill that down into a single car, with every facet of the design needing to match the same performance and safety requirements, despite being entirely new. The interior – not released for general consumption – also benefits from a very personal touch.

The SP38 is intended for both road and track, but will most likely find itself an impressive investment, joining a unique club of single-edition Ferrari road cars that goes back to the earliest days of the marque. In the past decade, the company has upped its game with its One-Off programme, and projects like the SP38 are both a way of bringing loyal customers right into the heart of the brand while adding another chapter to Ferrari’s ever expanding design history.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Ferrari website

Up until now the quintessential Ferrari exhibition was the display assembled by Ralph Lauren from his world-beating car collection back in Paris in 2011. Lauren’s 'L'Art de L'Automobile' wasn’t even totally dedicated to Ferrari, but the Italian marque dominated. The Design Museum’s new Ferrari blockbuster doesn’t have the space to replicate the meticulous gallery-style display Lauren maintains at his private garage in Westchester County, New York, where his priceless cars are presented both as automotive art and kept primed for everyday use. Instead, 'Ferrari: Under the Skin' is a far more claustrophobic affair, with dark red walls and dominant super-graphics and a tumbling wealth of ephemera and historical material set up alongside the cars themselves. The lighting and framing is dramatic and heroic, for this is an uncritical look at the triumphant synergy of design, engineering and branding.

Ferrari undeniably has a design story to tell, for it is one of those brands that cleverly filters its image from the highest levels (invitation only limited edition supercars) right down to the mass-market, with shop-fulls of merchandise keeping the flame alive. Curated by Andrew Nahum and Gemma Curtin, 'Under the Skin' begins as a chronological display of Ferrari’s origins, charting how Enzo Ferrari parlayed his pre-war experience as a driver and manager for the likes of Alfa Romeo’s racing team into his own car company, starting with the Ferrari 125 S of 1947. Seventy years is a substantial chunk of history to revisit, and the show’s publicity material makes a point of totting up the value of the display. £140m worth of cars is even more impressive when you realise there are only 13 in the show, alongside a scattering of models of various scales, styling bucks and engines and chassis.

That valuation alone is the reason the Ferrari legend endures (is this is the most expensive collection of objects the Design Museum has ever assembled?). One consequence is that the lustre and patina of actual use is almost entirely absent - when not being used, these cars still feel showroom fresh (you can’t even photograph one of the loan cars, lest the proliferation of its image somehow diminishes its value. Perhaps the owner has been reading Walter Benjamin).

Enzo Ferrari was already a legend before he put his name on a car. ‘He did not race to sell cars - he sold cars to keep on racing,’ one panel reads. That relationship is not so straightforward today, with Ferrari’s Formula 1 future in doubt for the first time in decades. The innovation that drives the highest of the high-end models forward might have its origins on the track, but ultimately it could just as easily be driven by the wallets of the marque’s vociferous and voracious collectors. Over the years the company has kept an iron grip on its image, without losing its finger for the pulse of popular culture. The casual graphic elegance of its 60s and 70s yearbooks is a particular highlight, and the archive imagery of car designs and sketches is compelling.

But Ferrari today is not about nostalgia. ‘We don’t like to repeat ourselves,’ insists Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s Senior Vice President of Design, ‘I am on a constant quest for innovation.’ Sure, there are the occasional visual quotes and references from new to old, but the company has no pattern book of forms that it relies on to give its cars a consistent image over the decade. This show elevates car and designer to heroic status but never quite gets under the skin of the brand’s raw appeal to the emotions, whether it's from rock stars or celebrity chefs right down to those who simply want an association – at any scale – with the famous prancing horse.

INFORMATION

‘Ferrari: Under the Skin’ is on view until 15 April 2018. For more information, visit the Design Museum London website

ADDRESS

Design Museum
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Heads up agile workers: the ‘Cockpit’ is a racing chair for the office, the Ferrari of swivel seats. Indeed, commissioned to mark the car maker’s 70th anniversary, and manufactured by Poltrona Frau, it is designed by Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s design director and creator of recent models such as the GTC4Lusso and the 812 Superfast.

The chair’s silhouette and structure are informed by the ergonomic seats of the marque’s racing cars, while its modular construction offers flexibility and comfort.

Poltrona Frau has collaborated with Ferrari on its vehicle interiors since the mid-1990s and the long-term partnership has allowed the two firms to develop a mutual appreciation and understanding of each other’s aesthetic values. ‘Our companies share the same care and attention to details, the same constant research for excellence, the same love for craftsmanship and the same sense of balanced elegance,’ explains Nicola Coropulis, Poltrona Frau’s brand director.

The chair features a carbon-fibre shell and a leather seat, while its swivel movement was developed using the same design and mechanics as a Ferrari steering wheel.

Two versions are available: the President is a managerial model with a high back, while the Executive can be adapted to any working context. The models are available in sleek black or classic Ferrari red, and there are also options in brown and tan leather, which were chosen by Manzoni’s team from the material samples offered in the car company’s ‘Tailor-Made’ programme.

‘The biggest lesson we have learned in working with Ferrari is that even the tiniest detail must have meaning and function in relation to the whole project. Nothing is there just to embellish,’ says Coropulis. ‘True beauty is in the essence of things and in the way they are assembled.’

As originally featured in the July 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*220)

INFORMATION

’Cockpit President’ chair, from £10,800; ’Cockpit Executive’ chair, from £8,400, both by Ferrari and Poltrona Frau, For more information, visit the website