The Craziest Ferrari Ever?

The Ferrari P80/C

Ferrari has created an entirely new and modern take on the Ferrari sports prototype with its new one-off, the P80/C. This is, without doubt, both an ambitious and complex undertaking.

The client – a knowledgeable Ferrari collector – developed a brief for a modern sports prototype inspired by iconic models from the luxury brand’s history. This was a big ask: the 80/C had to be inspired by famous track cars that wrote their own styling rules, and in the process, influenced the design of Ferrari’s elegant road cars.

In line with this huge undertaking, the 80/C had the longest development time of any Ferrari one-off in history, with working starting in 2015.

The 80/C emerged as a track car, so performance was a huge factor in its development and radical changes had to be made to the running gear of the donor car.

The 488 GT3 chassis was used as a basis due to the model’s performance and longer wheelbase, which permitted more creative freedom. The GT chassis allowed the designers to go with a cab forward-effect where the rear is lengthened, giving the car a more compact and aggressive character: a cornerstone in the styling of the 80/C from the very beginning.

The side view of the car is a definitive wedge shape. Along with the muscular front and rear wings, and classic wrap-around windscreen, this gives the aesthetically-pleasing impression that the cabin is fused with the body. These features pay homage to the 330 P3/P4, the Dino, and the 250 LM berlinettas.

In line with the client’s request, the car was designed with a dual soul incorporating both a racing set up – demonstrated by its showy carbon-fibre wing – and an exhibition package featuring 21” wheels, but without aerodynamic appendages. This allows the design to speak for itself; highlighting the purity of its forms. It has been painted a bright statement Ross Vero.