From a sportscar firm that has come up with some attention-grabbing designs over the years, the new F76 probably trumps them all for pure in-your-face presence.
Ferrari has unveiled it to commemorate its third consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the 499P.
The catch? The F76 is not a production car but a virtual project.
You can’t buy one, at least for now (and we hear your sighs of disappointment), but perhaps there will be one in the future, as the Ferrari Styling Centre has created it as a design manifesto which aims to prefigure the shapes of upcoming Ferraris.
It is Ferrari’s first car created exclusively for the digital world in the form of an NFT.
The name pays tribute to the Prancing Horse’s first triumph at Le Mans, achieved by Luigi Chinetti with Lord Selsdon at the wheel of the Touring-bodied 166 MM barchetta 76 years ago, in 1949.
The radically styled F76 stands out for its double fuselage, designed for maximum purity in air flow management.
The driver and passenger cells are separated with a central channel that transforms the car’s body into a wing, making the most of ground effect.
The flanks feature vertical cuts reminiscent of Ferrari’s F80, emphasising how the limited-edition supercar is destined to influence future production models.
The front has a band suspended between the wings, which takes the floating splitter concept of the F80 to the extreme. Two pairs of retractable headlights are positioned under the suspended band, representing a link between the legacy of Ferrari’s 1970s and 1980s pop-up headlights and the futuristic character of the F76. This gives the car a distinctive look inspired by tradition, says Ferrari.
Inside, the two separate cockpits utilise drive-by-wire technology to synchronise every driving component, from the steering wheel to the pedals, allowing both occupants to experience and share sensations in real time.
This article was first published in Business Day.
