In its 75 years of designing and building the world’s most coveted cars, Ferrari has created a number of icons. Here are 12 of the very best, from its earliest successes to contemporary feats of technology and excellence…
375 Mille Miglia Scaglietti (1953) When you win Pebble Beach’s Best in Show ribbon as a post-war vehicle, you know you have a special car (the first to do so since 1968, and the first Ferrari ever). Only five 375 MMs were produced in 1953, all one-of-a-kind, so they’re already extremely rare. But this version coachbuilt by Scaglietti was commissioned by Italian director Roberto Rossellini for his movie star wife Ingrid Bergman.
250 Testa Rossa (1957) The “Red Head” was named after the red valve covers on the 3.0-litre V12 engine. Despite winning several 24 Hours of Le Mans races, the unique curves of the Testa Rossa initially proved polarising, but its swollen pontoon fenders – inspiration for Speed Racer’s Mach 5 race car – easily make it one of the shapeliest Ferraris ever. Only 34 were made, helping the Testa Rossa command dollars second only to the 250 GTO.
250 GTO (1962) One of the great racers of its era, the 250 GTO was originally envisioned as a response to surpass the Jaguar E-Type. It not only claimed three consecutive FIA world championships – the 250 GTO is also the most valuable car on Earth, with one example selling for a record US$48 million at auction in 2018. Only 39 were ever built, making the 250 GTO unquestionably the apex of Ferrari obsession.
330 P4 (1967) The 330 P4 was built from a simple mandate: beat Ford’s upstart GT40. Smarting from the rising dominance of Ford’s greatest creation, Enzo instructed his legendary chief engineer Mauro Forghieri to simply win. Which the 330 P4 did in 1967, sweeping the podium at the 24 Hours of Daytona and taking the top two spots at Monza.
365 GTB4 “Daytona” (1967) Ferrari returned volley to the Lamborghini Miura, widely considered the world’s first supercar, with this front-engine V12 Gran Turismo. The resulting 365 GTB4 earned its nickname when Ferrari swept the podium at the famed Florida track in 1967, and gained superstar status when Sonny Crockett selected a replica as his vehicle of choice in the first seasons of Miami Vice.
308 GTS (1975) For men of a certain age Ferrari will always be first associated with the mustachioed charm of one Magnum P.I.. When Magnum (aka Tom Selleck) wasn’t busy trolling poor old Higgins, he could be seen speeding across Oahu in a blood-red Ferrari 308. Magnum led the ultimate life – saving ladies in distress, solving crimes, hopping around Hawaii with his boys – and the 308 was the red cherry of the Magnum P.I. sundae.
288 GTO (1984) The 400-horsepower GTO was designed from the ground-up for the track, powered by a heavily modified twin-turbocharged version of the 308’s naturally aspirated 2.9-litre V8. The first Ferrari to ever use lightweight composite materials in its construction, the GTO also became the first “production” car to exceed 300 km/h (189 mph) – making it both a nominal tip-of-the-hat to the legendary 250 GTO and the predecessor of the legendary F40.
F40 (1987) The last vehicle to leave the Ferrari factory built entirely under Enzo’s peerless guidance, the F40 distilled Ferrari brutality into arguably the most visceral car of its era. The direct response to Enzo’s request that his engineers craft a more extreme sports car, the F40 featured expensive lightweight composites and a twin-turbocharged V8, allowing the F40 to crest the 200 mph wall – the first Ferrari ever to do so.
Testarossa and 512 TR (1991) From its iconic feature in the ’90s OutRun video game, to being Sonny Crockett’s chosen whip in later seasons of Miami Vice, the jaw-dropping Testarossa is easily one of the most recognised Prancing Horses ever (thanks largely to those signature hairclipper side strakes). The last-of-the-series 512 TR boosted horsepower to 428 (up from 390) and shaved 0-60 mph down to 4.9 seconds (from 5.2), adding even more of a performance punch.
Enzo Ferrari (2002) The literal homage to the man who built the iconic marque, the Enzo bristled with Ferrari’s best Formula One technology: paddleshifters, carbon ceramic disc brakes and an ultra-rare carbon fiber tub – thus far only seen in the McLaren F1. The 660 horses from its 6.0-litre V12 allowed the gull-winged beauty to teleport from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds.
LaFerrari (2013) The LaFerrari manages to look like something from the future that is still ultimately classic – a very rare paradox. Ferrari’s first electrified car, it mates an electric motor with a 6.3-litre naturally aspirated V12 to generate 950 angry horses, all tucked into a kevlar and carbon fibre tub. Of all its electrically-enhanced hypercar nemeses (e.g. McLaren P1 and Porsche 918), the LaFerrari is by far the most otherworldly.
Monza SP1 (2020) In 2018 twin Monzas introduced Ferrari’s new Icona series. While the two-seater SP2 was also a looker, the nod here goes to the SP1 – a single-seat ode to high-performance solipsism. Inspired by the Monzas of the 1950s and ’60s, the eye-watering barchetta (windshield-less racecar) features the most powerful non-electrified Ferrari engine to date: a 810-hp 6.5-litre V12 that skyrockets the SP1 from 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF FERRARI
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