Ferrari understands very well that people with a few million on the bank do not want to drive the same car as their immediate neighbor, who lives 300 meters away. That is why as a valued customer (so you have to get some ‘standard’ Ferraris first) you can knock on the door for a one-off.
Ferrari will then build a unique model especially for you. You can then be 100 percent sure that there is no one else with the exact same car. The latest one-off is this Ferrari Omologata, based on the 812 Superfast.
One-off Ferrari’s are a rarity, so news of the Italian marque’s new Omologata is rather exciting. The Omologata is featuring a coachbuilt body that exploits “the proportions of the potent, mid-front layout”, as Ferrari says.
The Omologata was commissioned by an unnamed European client and the brief was to create “a futuristic design with distinctive elements reinterpreted in a fresh manner to provide potential for a timeless shape that is certain to leave a lasting impression”. The name makes it clear that the Omologata also had to be equally at ease on the road as on the track.
Somebody in Europe clearly found the 2020 Ferrari 812 Superfast’s exterior to be a touch on the busy side, and opted to commission the Italian carmaker’s tenth one-off GT since 2009.
Like the story usually goes with these specials, the project took two years to complete, with Ferrari VP of Design Flavio Manzoni penning a hand-formed aluminum body that still wouldn’t clash with the 812 Superfast’s global crash homologation. Mind you, according to Maranello, the track-only mid-engine P80/C announced last year was a four-year job.
The Omologata even gets its own shade of Ferrari red, dubbed ‘Rosso Magma’. Finished in three layers of paint, it’s set over a darkened carbon fiber finish and is accompanied by exclusive racing-inspired decals. The new Ferrari Omologata shares only its windshield and headlights with the 812 Superfast it’s based on, at least when it comes to its exterior panels.
With its round taillights and more pronounced grille, the overall result has a much more traditional feel than Ferrari’s latest gran turismo, the V8 Roma. The idea from the onset was to create a futuristic design with distinctive elements reinterpreted in a fresh manner to provide potential for a timeless shape that is certain to leave a lasting impression.
The objective was to exploit the proportions of the potent, mid-front layout to deliver a very sleek design defined by smooth volumes and undulating reflections, uplifted by sharp graphics with sparingly distilled surface breaks wherever dictated by aerodynamic functions. The trickiest aspect was striking the ideal balance between expressiveness and restraint: the Omologata had to ooze street presence whilst maintaining a very pure formal language.
The designers carefully studied the stance and attitude of the car from all angles, defining a tapering front volume from the flattened oval grille. The rounded section over the front wheelarches, emphasized by a contrasting stripe wrapping across the bonnet, seems to naturally extrude from the grille.
Rear of the door, the flank develops into a very potent rear muscle that neatly blends upwards into the three-quarter panel. The entire volume is rendered deliberately imposing through the elimination of the rear quarter light, while three horizontal transversal cuts in the fastback volume visually lower the rear mass.
The tail is surmounted by a prominent spoiler which adds not only downforce, but a more aggressive, sporty stance. Overall, the car appears to be poised to attack the tarmac even at a standstill and, seen from the rear, the deeply set single taillights underline the tension.
A fitting one-off exercise, the Omologata manages to encompass a range of subtle Ferrari signature design cues without falling into nostalgia. Its hand-crafted aluminium bodywork is sprinkled with almost subliminal details, in a way that challenges the enthusiast to identify the various sources of inspiration that played a part into its inception.
The 812 Superfast’s underpinnings and V12 engine remain, meaning the Omologata also packs 789 BHP which is good to push it well over 200 MPH.
I would argue that it achieved what it wanted. The Omologata corrects a few tiny details that to me seems to be misses on the 812 Superfast, done purely because the latest V12 is an evolution of the Ferrari F12, and thus had to be dialed up in all respects, except maybe for how tricky an F12 can be to drive.
Let’s choose not to talk about rear visibility at all, taking a peek at the cabin instead. Inside the car, it’s all about nods to Ferrari’s racing heritage, electric blue seats finished in a combination of leather and Jeans Aunde fabric with 4-point racing harnesses, stand out against a full black interior. Ferrari even deleted the rear quarter lights to make the atmosphere even more focused.
The electric blue seats, finished in a combination of leather and Jeans Aunde fabric, feature 4-point racing harnesses stand out against a full black interior.
The metal parts of the dashboard and steering wheel are finished with the crackled paint effect, which is supposed to remind us of GT racers of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as with Ferrari’s engine cam covers. With that in mind, both the inner door handles and the Ferrari F1 bridge have this hammered paint finish.
The 2020 Ferrari Omologata, the tenth one-off V12 from Maranello since 2009 leaves us with one question this week. Would you take home this unique multi-million-dollar creation based on the 812 Superfast, or one of Touring Superleggera’s upcoming Touring Aero 3s based on the F12? With custom Ferraris, it’s always a tough one.
Take a look at the one-off Ferrari Omologata; and note, that’s about as close as we’ll probably ever get to it, seeing this has been coachbuilt for one very lucky, discerning Ferrari customer.
Come into the beautiful world of Ferrari.
Yakymour 