Ferrari Collectibles Series: the anatomy of a legend
An exploration of the collection from the Prancing Horse’s legacy; built by decades of relentless speed, power-driven innovation, and unparalleled engineering that made millions of people dream.
While during Milan Design Week most companies focus on looking towards the future, Ferrari has chosen to do something more radical: to look at its history. For a brand that has never really sold cars, but dreams and desire, the Ferrari Collectibles series lays bare the inner workings of the Prancing Horse cars, dissecting with surgical precision the parts that have created its fame.
Ferrari invites its devotees to get close, with an installation designed to expose the most minute details that usually disappear at 300 km/h. The collection was exhibited in Ferrari’s boutique and included many relevant pieces, such as a type 048B Formula 1 engine, with which the team won the 9th Constructors’ World Championship title in 1999, with Eddie Irvine, Michael Schumacher, and Mika Salo leading the charge.
Another important mention is the 6.3-litre V12 that powered the LaFerrari in 2013: installed in Ferrari’s first-ever hybrid road car, the internal combustion engine was enhanced by the Formula 1-derived HY-KERS system, a high-performance electric motor that generated energy under braking to deliver a combined output of 963hp. This particular piece is one-off, as it comes from a prototype built during the development phase of LaFerrari itself.
“In conceiving the new Collectibles series,” says Flavio Manzoni, Chief Design Officer at Ferrari, “we wanted to draw upon our background as designers at the Centro Stile Ferrari, not only in the field of design, but also in architecture. The use of transparent materials and structural components essential to the design gives the object a sense of suspension and lightness, allowing it to be contemplated in the purity of its form, encouraging interaction with both the viewer and the surrounding space. It’s an approach fully aligned with our philosophy in car design, where we work by subtraction rather than addition, stripping away the superfluous in order to identify and communicate, in true Ferrari spirit, the emotional core of the project.”
The collection unveiled in Milan was expanded with the “Red Pieces” revealed in Miami a month later, showing parts of the external body of Ferrari racing cars instead. The series is an aesthetic homage to the brand’s iconic design, but it is also a tribute to its athletes, featuring the nosecone from the car that carried Michael Schumacher to his 2002 Formula 1 World Championship, and the front wing that helped Charles Leclerc win at the Belgian and Monza Grands Prix in 2019. The pieces speak about the history and milestones of Ferrari, acting as tangible memories of legendary moments.
This collection is about legacy: an ode to performance, beauty, and the relentless pursuit of perfection. In revealing the inner workings of its machines, Ferrari earns it place in history all over again, exposing its culture of precision and dedication. Seeing in first person the hard work that lays behind these components allows the audience to ignite their imagination, to dream bigger.
