Ferrari: Under the Skin is a major exhibition exploring the history and design of Ferrari. The show celebrates 70 years of creative development since the launch of the first car in 1947. Displaying rarely seen material from private collections, the exhibition provides a unique insight into the meticulous and glamorous world of Ferrari. This ambitious collection, the first outside the Museo Ferrari in Maranello, brings together early design models, drawings, personal letters and memorabilia as well as some of the most famous cars to grace the world’s roads and racing circuits. Together, these artefacts and original documents provide an unprecedented study of automotive design.
The exhibition offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the secretive world of car design. Original hand-drawn sketches feature next to high-tech wind tunnel models and beautifully crafted early wooden master models to present a survey of the manufacturing process and the relationship between form and function. Charting the varied techniques used throughout Ferrari’s history, the exhibition demonstrates how drawings are translated by sculptural techniques into the final form of the car. An original 1:1 scale hand-crafted clay design model of the J50 is a highlight of the exhibition and offers an exclusive view into the factory’s techniques. The limited edition J50 was made in a run of only 10 cars exclusive to Japan, celebrating 50 years of Ferrari in the country.
The exhibition also looks at Ferrari’s extraordinary celebrity clientele. It was these discerning clients who helped establish Ferrari as the brand we know today. Notes by Miles Davis feature alongside archive photography of famous clients with their cars, including Clint Eastwood, Sammy Davis Jr, Brigitte Bardot and Peter Sellers.
The exhibition culminates in a look at Ferrari today. A LaFerrari Aperta, owned by Gordon Ramsay and the most technologically advanced Ferrari to date, represents the company’s continuing innovation. This hybrid vehicle is accompanied by concept sketches and an in-depth look at the engine.
Present Day Manufacturing of the Ferrari California car.
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, 2010
Ferrari: Under the Skin- 15th April 2018 Design Museum designmuseum.org
