After the mandatory introductory speech, Luca di Montezemolo cut the ribbon to declare the exhibition
officially open, and then led the invited guests through “the shield” (shades of Alice through the Looking
Glass) to view the exhibits on display, which started with the 330 P3 sports racing car which finished 3rd in
the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967, and was sited below the “Cavallino Rampante” at the end of the tunnel. The
first display area comprises of F1 cars, including the painstakingly built replica of the legendary 156
“Sharknose”, recently sold by its creator to its current owner, who loaned it for display. There is also an
example of the F1-89 on display, the first F1 car to feature an electro-hydraulic controlled gearbox featuring
paddle shifts on the steering wheel, which won first time out in the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix driven by Nigel
Mansell. This is a prime example of racing improving the breed and the transfer of F1 technology to road cars,
as the complete Ferrari road car range of today has this feature, adapted, refined, and developed even further,
for everyday use. This part of the exhibition also features a pair of F1 cars from the turbo era in the eighties, a
126 C from 1981 and a 156 from 1985, very apt with the return of turbo power to F1 in 2014.
The other section of the ground floor display area is dedicated to sports racing models, starting from the first
car to carry the Ferrari badge, the 125 S from 1947. This is actually a factory built replica of the original car,
which they constructed in 1990, hence the appropriate chassis number 90125, as none of the original cars
existed in their original form, having been upgraded and modified in period to later specifications to stay
competitive. Other cars in this section include the ex-Fernand Tavano 500 TRC, splendidly finished in blue
with a red band as raced by him in the fifties, the super svelte 312 P coupe from 1969, and the Porsche 917s
main combatant in the early seventies, the thundering 512 M.
The exhibition continues in the main gallery on the first floor, via a slight deviation into the “Ferrari in Film”
gallery on the mezzanine floor, where a F40 LM, has crept in. This display comprises of a range of GT cars in
both road and race form, showing essentially how the road cars have become competition versions, and how
these in turn have helped to spawn special, more extreme, editions of the road car like the Challenge
Stradale, 430 Scuderia and now the 458 Speciale, which made its debut at The Frankfurt Motor Show in
September. A full scale model of the 458 Speciale is set on a raised plinth, flanked either side at floor level by
its two immediate predecessors, the Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia.. The display also features full
competition versions of all three cars, in attractive racing liveries, the 360 in the beautiful metallic blue and
white of the Sara sponsored Scuderia Playteam, the 430 in red and blue Motorola livery and the 458 in the
Nationalistic AF Corse red, white and green colours. There is also an example of the first of the “modern era”
V8 GT cars converted for competition use, a Michelotto modified 308 GTB Gp4 rally car, plus the 308 GT/M
from the same company, which resembles a scaled down 512 BB/LM, and which could be said to be the
forerunner of the 288 “Evoluzione” which evolved into the now legendary F40. This resemblance is not only in
its body styling, but also the longitudinally mid-mounted V8 engine location and the spartan interior.
The other current exhibitions in the museum run concurrently, including the LaFerrari one, “Ferrari in The
Movies”, and “Ferraris from Another World - Test Mules & Adventures”, plus the F1 “Hall of Fame” and all the
other regular features and amenities, like the simulator , gift shop and cafeteria.
Further details of the exhibitions, opening times and admission fees, can be found at www.museoferrari.com
Ferrari Models in the Exhibition
Model Colour Chassis #
125 S Spider Factory Re-creation Dark Red 90125
166 F2 Red 112
225 S Spider Vignale Dark Red 0176ET
750 Monza Spider Scaglietti Red 0572M
500 TRC Blue-Red Band 0696MDTR
156 F1 (1961) Replica Red “0002”/R
330 P3 Red 0844
312 P Red 0872
512 M Red 1028
308 GTB Gp4 White 19051
126 C F1 Red 052
156 F1 (1985) Red 081
308 GT/M Red 002M
F1-89 F1 Red 105
F40 LM Red 92238
348 GTC Red 98878
360 Challenge Stradale Red-RWG Stripes 136546
360 GT2 Blue-Silver 2060
575 GTC Red 2106
430 Scuderia Red-Grey Stripes 163469
430 GT2 Red-Blue 2462
F60 F1 Red 274
458 GT2 Red-RWG Stripes 2826
458 Speciale 1:1 Display Model Red-White & Blue St’s -
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Keith Bluemel
10/2013
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