Ferrari rarities that didn’t make it to production
Ferrari’s cars have always sold in reassuringly limited numbers, yet there have been some models bearing the Prancing Horse badge that never reached any production line.
Due to the nature of Ferrari, all of these blind-alley cars have a focus on performance, but that doesn’t mean there are not some intriguing avenues of design.
From three-seaters to five-door station wagons, and pared-down sports cars to record breakers, all have appeared with a Ferrari badge, but not got much further.
Here’s our look at some of the most fascinating Ferraris never made, with the list presented in chronological order.
1. 1953 Ferrari 625TF Berlinetta
Ferrari may be best known for its V12-powered cars, but the 625 used a four-cylinder engine that was developed in quick order to use in racing.
The thinking was the Lampredi-designed unit would be lighter and offer more low-down torque for tight, twisty circuits.
Ferrari built three 625s, with the number referring to the individual cylinder capacity of the 2.5-liter engine. Two open-top Spiders were made, but just one closed Berlinetta.
Mike Hawthorn took one of the Spiders to fourth place in the Grand Prix at Monza in 1953.
The cars were later sold by the factory with their original motors replaced by 3-liter units. A fire destroyed the only coupe and just one Spider remains in existence.
2. 1956 Ferrari 250GT Geneve Cabriolet
Pinin Farina had strong links with Ferrari by the mid-1950s, but this car was created by coachbuilder Boano with a more contemporary US influence.
This can be easily spotted in the curving flair of the rear fenders of this cabriolet based on the 250GT chassis.
The car made its debut at the 1956 Geneva Auto Salon, hence the Swiss city’s name in its title.
The same car repainted a lighter shade of blue also appeared at the Turin and New York motor shows that year.
The car was later sold in the US, but it did not have any effect on Ferrari’s style, which preferred a more restrained European look for most of its cars.
3. 1960 Ferrari 250GT SWB Bertone
Special customers have often been given exceptional treatment by Ferrari, and few more so than Enrico Wax when he was allocated the very first 250GT short-wheelbase chassis.
The chassis had been intended as one of three factory race cars, but Wax was such a valued customer that this car was diverted to him by Enzo Ferrari.
The body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro working at Bertone and it was later exhibited at the Turin motor show in 1960.
While the roofline of this coupe is similar to the usual Scaglietti version of the 250GT SWB, the Bertone car had a more squared-off tail.
It also had a large, front-hinged hood that gave excellent access to the engine bay.
4. 1964 Ferrari 330LMB Fantuzzi Spider
Ferrari did not take on the ideas of Fantuzzi and its gold-painted 330LMB Spider, but it did eventually make a nod to this car with its one-off P540 Superfast Aperta built in 2009.
The Fantuzzi car was initially built on a 1963 chassis but put together in 1964. A coupe version had already been completed, while the Spider came next and finished in a distinctive gold color.
This car went on to appear in the 1968 movie Spirits of the Dead in this hue and driven by Terence Stamp.
The body was later fitted to a 1966 330GT 2+2 chassis and the body painted red.
5. 1965 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta Speciale
This is one of the most influential cars in Ferrari’s history, because it set the style for all of its mid-engined models to follow right up to the present day.
It was styled by Aldo Brovarone working at Pininfarina and is thought to be the last design seen by company boss Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina before his death.
The long rear deck was necessary to accommodate a longitudinally mounted engine, but this was changed to a transverse layout as seen in the first 206 road cars.
The Dino Berlinetta Speciale was meant to have open headlights, but these were later faired in behind a Plexiglass cover.
Enzo Ferrari did not give this car the nod for production, partly because he felt the cabin was too cramped, but it did lead to the Dino 206 of 1967.
6. 1966 Ferrari Dino 206 S
With styling that owed plenty to the Dino Berlinetta Speciale of the year before, the 206 S looked like a car ready to go into production following some competition outings.
The motorsport side of the deal came good and Ferrari built 18 of these lightweight cars.
They were entered in races such as the Targa Florio, the 1000km Nürburgring and many circuit events with considerable success.
With its compact, 2-liter V6 engine developing c220HP and giving a 167mph top speed, the 206 S was a potent machine.
However, it was too raw for road use, so the later Dino 206GT of 1967 took on those duties.
7. 1966 Ferrari 365P Berlinetta Speciale Tre Posti
Ferrari could have beaten Lamborghini to the top of the mid-engined supercar pile had it taken its stunning 365P Berlinetta Speciale Tre Posti into production.
On looks alone, this low-slung machine would have wowed the world in the mid-1960s thanks to the lines from Pininfarina.
It was displayed at the 1966 Paris motor show to huge admiration, not least from Gianni Agnelli who commissioned a second car for himself, even if Ferrari would not put it on general sale.
The styling links to the 206GT are clear in the 365P, but its three-seat cabin with central driving position were more race car than road machine.
Power for the 365P was also race-derived, with its 4.4-liter V12 engine thought to produce around 380HP.
8. 1968 Ferrari 250 P5 Berlinetta Speciale
A Ferrari P4 chassis was used by Pininfarina to create the 250 P5, which was first seen at the 1968 Geneva Auto Salon.
It caused quite a stir with its radical aerodynamic look that gave it a very low body and wheels tucked up into the arches.
While not everyone was bowled over by the looks of the P5, its clever design used plenty of ideas that would soon be incorporated into production Ferraris like the 365BB.
Other innovations, like the gullwing doors, remained firmly away from the company’s road cars.
The P5 was originally finished in white, then changed to red later in its life, and it used the same 3-liter V12 as the P4.
9. 1968 Ferrari P6 Berlinetta Speciale
Not long after the P5 was unveiled, the Ferrari P6 Berlinetta Speciale broke cover and was a very clear indication of how the mid-engined 365BB would look. There were also hints of the 365GTC/4 in the P6’s appearance.
Again styled by Pininfarina, it had a mid-mounted, 3-liter, V12 engine claimed to produce c400HP.
Perhaps more importantly than that impressive figure is the P6 helped nudge Enzo Ferrari towards a mid-engined flagship road car, which was something he had been notoriously reluctant to embrace.
Even so, the P6 remained a one-off design study rather than being developed more fully, but its place in the development of Ferrari cars is important.
10. 1969 Ferrari 312P
Ferrari had been caught out by rule changes for the 1968 season that left its 330 P4 ineligible due to its engine capacity being too large.
In 1969, Ferrari came back with its new 312P that had a 3-liter V12 producing c420HP for a top speed of up to 200mph.
It looked like the perfect car to take on the Group 6 category in sports-car racing – and it did well in 1969 at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
However, as the year progressed, it became clear that a more aerodynamic coupe version was needed, so the early open car remained an interesting cul-de-sac of Ferrari’s competition history.
11. 1970 Ferrari 512 S Modulo
There were plenty of wedge-shaped concepts and proposals around when the Ferrari 512 S Modulo broke cover in 1970, but this design from Paolo Martin of Pininfarina was among the most extreme.
The low, wide style of the Modulo hugged the ground so much that an opening canopy was necessary to access the cabin, rather than more usual doors. This canopy lifted up and forwards, lending the car even more drama.
First seen at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1970, the Modulo was based on a 512 S race car, which meant there was a mid-mounted, 5-liter, V12 engine.
This could be seen through 24 holes in the engine cover, though the real purpose of these holes was to let engine heat escape if the car was ever to be a roadgoing reality.
The Modulo was first shown with only a display engine in place, so it was a non-runner, but later owner James Glickenhaus sympathetically brought the car to full running order after buying it from Pininfarina in 2014.
12. 1971 Ferrari 3Z Spider
While it might seem incredible now that someone would willingly sacrifice a Ferrari 250GT California SWB, that is exactly what Luigi Chinetti and Zagato did to create this 3Z Spider.
The car was supplied to Zagato, which then crafted a new body that had been styled by Giuseppe Mittino with sharp edges and more of a Daytona look.
Chinetti was closely involved in the design process, so much so that its completion was delayed and it wasn’t unveiled until the 1971 Turin motor show.
The car was then exported to the US where Chinetti sold it and the car latterly spent 30 years with Ferrari enthusiast Anatoly Arutunoff.
13. 1974 Ferrari CR25
Rather than teasing Ferrari with a show car the manufacturer might like to put into production, Pininfarina created the CR25 as a showcase for what it could do with its state-of-the-art wind tunnel.
As a study in aerodynamics, the CR25 took its name from its drag coefficient of just 0.25Cd. The long, low shape lent itself to making the car a four-seater thanks to the length of the roof.
There were elements of the CR25 that passed into Ferrari’s production models, such as the front styling of the car that bore a close resemblance to the Mondial that would follow in 1980.
Other features of the CR25 were less welcome, such as the alloy wheels that looked more like plain steels, or the triangular panels in the rear pillars that opened when braking to further help with slowing the car.
14. 1987 Ferrari 408 Integrale
The ‘Integrale’ part of this Ferrari’s name is nothing to do with its four-wheel drive as it might lead you to think.
Instead, ‘integrale’ is Italian for ‘integral’ and references this car’s bonded-aluminum and steel structure, that was created with help from specialist firm Alcan. The car was styled by the IDEA Institute and built by Scaglietti.
Ferrari didn’t adopt this construction method until the 360 was launched in 1998, but the benefits of the technique were clear in the Integrale, which is also sometimes known as the 408 RM4.
Ferrari built two 408 Integrales to study how it could make a mid-engined, four-wheel-drive car work effectively. It also had four-wheel steering and used a 4-liter V8 motor.
15. 1989 Ferrari Colani Testa D’Oro
German designer and tuner Luigi Colani had a passion for Ferraris and creating his own take on them.
When he decided to attempt a speed record, he naturally chose a Ferrari Testarossa.
The finished car came with gold-painted intakes, hence the Testa D’Oro name for ‘gold head’.
The rest of the car was just as much a one-off thanks to the curvy body that makes it hard to guess there was a Testarossa lurking beneath.
Even the bits under the skin were modified by Colani, who fitted twin turbochargers to the flat-12 engine to give it a claimed 750HP – that was enough for the car to hit 218mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1991 to set a new class record.
16. 1993 Ferrari 456GT Venice
Before the Ferrari Purosangue was launched in 2023, the only way you would own a four-door Ferrari was to have one custom built. For the lucky few, the Maranello factory was willing to accommodate such requests.
Members of the Brunei royal family are just such lucky customers and Ferrari worked with Pininfarina to create the 456GT Venice.
It’s an elongated version of the 456 coupe, with a pair of back doors and a station-wagon rear end with a tailgate, to make it a surprisingly practical and good-looking car.
Only ever intended for the Brunei royal family’s use, Ferrari and Pininfarina made seven 456GT Venice wagons in total.
Six of these cars were delivered to the royal household, but the seventh was not taken up and was subsequently sold to a private buyer in the UK.
Despite interest from other potential customers, Ferrari stuck to its promise not to make any more 456GT Venice wagons, though Pininfarina did build convertible and sedan versions of this model.
17. 2000 Ferrari 360 Barchetta
As wedding gifts go, the Ferrari 360 Barchetta sure beats a matching set of towels. The lucky recipient of this one-off, open-top car was Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, then president of Ferrari.
None other than Gianni Agnelli ordered the car to be made, based on a standard Ferrari 360 Spider.
It then had the roof removed and a deflector added in place of the usual windshield. This work was overseen by Pininfarina, which also helped with the bespoke interior.
When the car was finished, Montezemolo was asked to pick up his present from a Fiat dealer in Bologna to put him off the scent of what the gift really was.
Several Ferrari customers asked the company to create a 360 Barchetta for them but were politely declined, so Montezemolo’s Barchetta remains the only one of its kind.
18. 2000 Ferrari Rossa
Ferrari was clearly in a playful mood in 2000, when it created the Rossa as the centerpiece of its stand at the Paris motor show that year. It also worked as a present to mark the 70th anniversary of Pininfarina.
Plenty of visitors were convinced this was a car close to being ready for production, because the Rossa was based on the 550 Barchetta.
As a more extreme version of this model, the Rossa made sense and had several potential buyers waving checks at Ferrari.
With a 5.5-liter V12 engine, slender windshield and chromed gated gearshifter, the Rossa had all the ingredients to deliver an unfiltered driving experience.
That wasn’t enough to tempt Ferrari into any sort of production model, but bits of the Rossa were seen in future models, such as the rear-light style of the Enzo.
19. 2005 Ferrari GG50
This car’s name comes from Ferrari wanting to mark 50 years of working with designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.
It was unveiled at the Tokyo motor show, prompting speculation a limited series might be made.
Ferrari kept the GG50 as a one-off, however, even if it would have been relatively simple to adapt for a small run of identical cars, because it was based on the 612 Scaglietti.
This gave the GG50 a 5.7-liter V12 engine for a potential 200mph top speed.
Many reckoned the GG50 was a prettier car than the 612 Scaglietti thanks to the one-off model’s shorter overhangs, so its looks shared more with the 599GTB that would follow as a production model in 2006.
20. 2009 Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta
The Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta was a case of history repeating itself when keen customer Edward Walson asked the factory to build a modern version of the 330LMB Fantuzzi Spider. Ferrari duly obliged with the one-off P540 painted in the same gold color as the original.
A 599GTB Fiorano provided the base for this car complete with its 6-liter V12 engine that revs to a giddy 8400rpm.
The transformation into the P540 was directed by Pininfarina, which also oversaw the use of carbonfiber to reinforce the car’s structure where the roof section had been removed.
It took 14 months from start to finish to make the P540 Superfast Aperta.
When it was delivered to its new owner, it ended much tittle-tattle about a new Ferrari model and left a few eager potential buyers feeling disappointed.
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