The prancing horse has been busy recently. Outside of launching its most powerful car ever, Ferrari has had plenty to shout about.
London exhibition
First up, a major exhibition dedicated to Ferrari will soon set up shop in the Design Museum in London.
Named Under the Skin, the exhibition offers a behind-the-scenes look at the design, manufacturing and engineering of one of the most iconic car brands on the planet, covering everything from the launch of the first Ferrari car in 1947 to the latest car production.
Organisers say it will provide unique insights into the world of Ferrari, drawing on rarely seen material, pulling together early design models, drawings, letters and memorabilia, as well as some of the most famous Ferraris to be seen on roads and racing circuits around the world.
Under the Skin opens on November 15th and runs until April 15th 2018.
F40 turns 30
The brand recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the F40. Created to mark 40 years of Ferrari, the F40 was the last car to carry the founder’s signature and was an extreme derivation of the 308 GTB and of the 288 GTO Evoluzione prototype.
Thirty years on, the Ferrari F40 is considered to be a masterpiece of engineering and style, which entered the collective imagination as a symbol of an era.
Its eight-cylinder 471bhp twin-turbo engine was a derivative of the 288 GTO Evoluzione’s, but a number of innovative measures made the F40 the first production Ferrari to exceed 198mph.
Former Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti said the design team knew it would be company founder Enzo Ferrari’s final car and so “threw [themselves] headlong into the work”. “If I had to point out one overriding reason for the success of the F40, I would say that its line succeeded in instantly transmitting the exceptionality of its technical content: speed, lightness, and performance,” he commented.
The F40 is currently on show at the Ferrari Museum of Maranello, as part of the Under The Skin exhibition devoted to the evolution of innovation and style in the 70-year history of the company.
Design awards
Finally, the Ferrari J50 – a two-seater, mid-rear-engined roadster with a targa body style that harks back to the revered Ferrari road cars from the 1970s and 1980s – has just taken top honours in the Red Dot Awards’ product design category.
The triumph marks the third year running that Ferrari has taken the Red Dot: Best of the Best award for its ground-breaking design quality.
Additionally, the GTC4Lusso, LaFerrari Aperta and 458 MM Speciale have also picked up Red Dot distinctions.
The J50 is based on the 488 Spider and was created to celebrate 50 years since Ferrari launched in Japan. Only ten will ever be built, with each going to Japanese customers for a fee predicted to be around £2.1-2.5 million.
For more articles like this, receive our weekly e-newsletter, including partner deals and all things motoring, register your email below.
Please note: You cannot subscribe to Smart-Motoring unless you put a tick in the checkbox below to indicate have read and agreed to our privacy policy.
GOODGOODGOODGOOD