Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
I suppose it is a sign of times that we are living but it does sadden me to read that to arouse the interest of the general public in an exhibition to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Ferrari, the second paragraph of the press release has to state that the exhibition displays Ferraris with a value of around £140 million. To me, and probably to most of you reading this, a Ferrari has nothing to do with perceived market value. To me it’s art, design, passion, history, triumph and tragedy, La Dolce Vita. We hope that Value does not come into it.
Anyway, wherever your bank is, if you happen to find yourself in London between now and April, I suggest you take a trip to Kensington to the Design Museum to catch their exhibition “Ferrari under the Skin.”
Welcome to the exhibit.
Given the small space available to them, exhibit curators Andrew Naham and Gemma Curtin have managed to pull together, with the help of the Ferrari Museum in Maranello and various collectors from around the world, an enviable collection of cars and artifacts to tell the story. To quote from the press release “Ferrari under the skin is a behind the scenes look at the design, people and engineering that created one of the most iconic car brands on the planet.”
The sections below meant to roughly correspond with the photos we present, but there are exceptions as the display is more artistic than linear or logical.
Section 1 Enzo Ferrari and his cars
Once you have walked through the short bright red entrance room the first sight to greet you is the replica of the Ferrari 125S and 1500cc V12 engine from 1947.
Enzo Ferrari in his heyday.
Enzo Ferrari with his mother.
A collection of photos from his prewar Alfa days.
Drawings of the very first V12 Ferrari.
A cabinet of photos from Ferrari’s career.
Ferrari’s famous purple pen.
And more.
Flag dates from the 1950s.
On the wall, I found The brochures are for Scuderia Ferrari/Auto Avio Construction machine tools, something I have never seen before.
The scarf dates from the 1960s, a promotional gift given to clients.
Some of Ferrari’s personal engineering books.
1956 Yearbook
1958 Yearbook
1964 Yearbook
Section 2 The Form of a Ferrari
The form of a Ferrari section.
The LM drawing is captioned as an early rendition of ideas for the 250LM. I had my doubts about that but certainly the rear panel is definitely LM.
An interesting design study of the 365 GT4 2 plus 2 against the earlier 365GT 2 plus 2.
More wind tunnel models for the 400 SA. The model behind is I believe for the 1960 250 GTE though the caption says 1960 250GT.
Drawings for the 400 Superamerica.
The wind tunnel models are of Leonardo Fioravanti’s experimental CR25 of 1968, and the P6 design study from 1966.
The Sigma Safety F1 model was a Pininfarina design study.
The wooden buck is that used in the construction of the Tre Posti, The body shell is from a 250 LM and the wire frame is from a 250. Pinin Farina and Ferrari look on.
This is a full size clay model of the J50 model of which 10 were produced to celebrate 50 years of Ferrari in Japan. The model is there together with the wooden buck,wind tunnel models, and drawings.
Section 3 Bones
1957 250GT chassis. To quote from the press release “In a Ferrari everything is designed and made for its special purpose. Nothing is off the shelf. This chassis forms an important exhibit within the exhibition and demonstrates the detailed design and engineering of Ferrari.”
The ultimate construction kit.
Section 4 I Clienti and 5, Racing
An import paring, The ex-Gianni Agnelli 1950 166MM with the ex-Peter Collins Pinin Farina designed 1957 250 GT Cabriolet. At Peter Collin’s behest the first Ferrari to be fitted with disc brakes courtesy of Dunlop.
Ferrari 512S brochure; amazing that they would produce a brochure for a racing car.
Next to the Ferrari 500, the 1952 Daily Express British Grand Prix trophy as presented to Alberto Ascari.
Another view of Alberto Ascari’s 1952 and 53 World Championship-winning F500
A replica of the wooden buck used for the construction of the bodywork of the 156 Shark nose. The object at the bottom right hand corner is a 7 speed semi automatic gearbox as used in the 1989 F1 cars.
From the “I Clienti” section,The order for Peter Seller’s 500 Superfast. Very few options loaded.
1960 250 Passo Corto chassis 2119, ex-Rob Walker. Driven by Stirling Moss to victory in the 1960 Goodwood 3 hour Tourist Trophy race.
Stripes.
250 Sperimentalie, Factory development model, ran at Le Mans in 1961 and 1962. Driven to a class victory at Daytona by Stirling Moss in 1962.
Gilles Villeneuve’s racing suit is one of several driver’s suits on display.
Michael Schumacher’s world championship winning F1 2000. If you are wondering why we have not included a photo of the 250 GTO behind it, it’s because the current owner decreed that no photographs were to be taken of the car. Good luck to that!
3.0 Flat 12 engine from the 1975 312T.
F1 V10 engine.
Section 6 The Future
La Ferrari hybrid power unit.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey’s La Ferrari Aperta.
Assorted Images you do not want to miss
166 MM 1950 Ex Gianni Agnelli.
250GT Cabriolet 1957 ex Peter Collins.
Cockpit of the Collin’s Ferrari. Note the cut down doors.
275 GTB/4 1967 Ex Maranello Concessionaires demonstrator, Testa Rossa, Ex Gianni Agnelli.
Daytona and ghosts.
Another shot of the wooden buck that was used for the construction of the Tre Posti.
The drawings captioned as an early 250 Lm are of a smaller car, as can be seen from the measures shown on the drawings. It is the first version of the 1965 166 P prototype, serial no. 0834, Dino 1.6 V6 engine, that had the maiden race at the 1965 Monza 1000 Km race where it lasted only a lap due to an overevving by Giancarlo Baghetti just after the start when he missed a gear. Racing number 53. To be shared by Giampiero Biscaldi, who didn’t even enter the car in the race. The rear panel, too, is very different from the 250 LM’s
So nice to see Gianni Agnelli’s 166 MM Barchetta. The Vignale Italia I owned was painted to match that car by the gentleman to whom I sold it. I knew it was to match some Ferrari, but didn’t know whose car it was.
Great photographs, would love to go over and see the show.
Thank you Jonathan for the wonderfully emotive pics.
Agree entirely with your comment.
There are many people in the world who know the price of everything and the value of very little.