WILD HORSES IN WEST LONDON
London’s Design Museum recently moved from its previous home at Shad Thames to the long-vacant Grade Ii-listed Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, and its curators have gone to great lengths to make use of the extra space – the building being some three times larger than the former site. Ferrari: Under the Skin is one of the first headline exhibitions to take advantage of the new premises, having come to the United Kingdom from the Museo Ferrari in Maranello, and runs until 15 April.
The exhibition has taken over the entire ground floor and gathers a spectacular array of road and racing machines with a total value in excess of £140m. A 125S replica represents genesis, leading on to Gianni Agnelli’s one-of-a-kind ’86 Testarossa Spider (C&SC, February 2016), a 1967 275GTB/4 and Nick Mason’s F40, which share the room with a ’57 250GT Cabriolet and a 1950 166MM. The beautifully lit and thoughtfully presented displays are enhanced by blown-up period photographs.
A feast of competition cars kicks off with a ’73 365GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ that dominates the foyer. Elsewhere, Ross Brawn’s 250GT SWB, in which Stirling Moss won the 1960 Tourist Trophy (C&SC, Feb 2016), takes pride of place on mock tarmac banking alongside Lord Bamford’s green-and-yellow ex-david Piper 250GTO, giving visitors a rare chance to get up close and personal with such valuable sports-racers.
The real treasure, however, lies in the display cases dotted around the cavernous gallery. A red room festooned with Enzo Ferrari quotes greets you, followed by a timeline of Il Commendatore’s life – from his birth in 1898 through to his founding of Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 and, ultimately, his death in 1988.
Your eyes barely have time to adjust before entering what can only be described as a temple to the great man’s life, and which contains a breathtaking array of artefacts. A photo of Ferrari and his brother Alfredo on the day of their first communion in 1907 sits alongside a monogrammed pen, desk jotter and letter opener. In another cabinet, a picture of Enzo and his mechanic Michele Conti at the start of the 1920 Targa Florio shares space with his Royal Automobile Club of Italy membership card from 1928.
Most of the personal treasures are being aired thanks to the generosity of the Ronald Stern Archive, but it isn’t only Enzo’s effects that are on show. You’ll also find an autographed race suit from Michael Schumacher – poignant given his sad condition – as well as a mesmerising line-up of helmets. From Alberto Ascari and José Froilán González through to Hawthorn, Hill and Surtees, each giant from the firm’s motorsport history is represented in chronological order. It offers a palpable and at times quite moving sense of history.
Dozens of design studies and technical drawings also line the walls, including intricate draughts of the 1959 400 Superamerica and ’72 365GT/4 2+2. Most are on loan from the archives of Pininfarina and many are original.
A fascinating collection of aerodynamic models from Museo Ferrari Maranello and Pininfarina is also intriguing. The wind tunnel mock-ups include the experimental P6 and Leonardo Fioravanti-styled CR25, as well as a rare Formula One design from Farina for the 1969 Sigma concept car.
A dazzling selection of priceless machines and dozens of fascinating snapshots from the life of one of the most enigmatic men in motorsport: what’s not to like? Greg Macleman