Welcome the latest and greatest of the One-Off Prancing Horse's: The Ferrari P80/C.
The Brief
Make a one-of-a-kind track-only dream car for and with one special client. This was the task given to Flavio Manzioni and the rest of the team at the Ferrari Styling Centre. With no rules to conform to and no limitations to hold them back, this was their opportunity to really let loose in terms of design and engineering. In order to push the boundaries and move forward, the design team decided to look backwards a bit, back to the Sports Prototypes of the 1960's. Taking spiritual inspiration from such iconic legends as the Ferrari 330 P3/P4 and the Ferrari Dino 206 S, to create a modern Sports Prototype project that would be like no other. A project that took 4 years to complete, the longest time taken for any One-Off.
Now before you think this is just a stylistic reinterpretation of the Ferrari 488 GTB, this car is very, very different. Of course since this was such a intense and legendary project, a legendary base was required to build on and so the team decided to use the Ferrari 488 GT3, a racing car that has won many, many laurels in its racing career. The Ferrari P80/C is very different: it’s a pure track car, where peak performance is a major factor, and every detail is crafted for that very purpose. Everything that isn't required, isn't there. Bare minimum. No road car creature comforts. But you don't really care about all that when you truly observe the gorgeous architecture of the car.
The Design
A striking wedge shape dominates the view of the car’s side at the front end and the relatively taller wheel arches give the car a crouching predatory stance. The S-Duct on the hood (as Ferrari call it) is much wider than any other we've seen and is split into two.The front end is also visually separated, from the rear section. The tinted wraparound windscreen is a clear nod to Ferrari’s iconic Sports Prototypes of the past, while the flying buttresses converging towards the roof seem to make the glasshouse resemble a racing driver’s helmet visor. The curved, muscular shape of the wings are emphasised by ‘buttresses’ (architecture student here!) that merge into the side air intakes feeding the engine, that gives the impression that the cabin is fused as one with the body.
The rear end’s ‘catamaran’ style architecture means there is almost no rear bodywork, allowing the car’s engine bay to be fully visible and there’s only a simple grille to help take heat away from the powerhouse. The no-roadcar-comforts ideology finds its way to the rear of the car too as the small rear lights are embedded in the massive spoiler which is reminiscent of the Ferrari FXX-K. We can't talk about the rear without at least mentioning the diffuser which looks like the backside of a spaceship and is about the size of one too! Evidently there's been a lot of aerodynamic research put into the car.
Although it isn't confirmed, the Ferrari P80/C probably retains the powertrain from the Ferrari 488 GT3. However it is apparently completely unleashed with no limits on its power according to Alesandro Piere Guidi, Ferrari's own GT Racing Driver. Think some where north of 650bhp and 700Nm of torque?
The car was revealed through a brilliantly made documentary style video call P R O T O T I P O by Blackbird Concessionaires which covered the initial stages of development all the way to its final test run on track. A kind of video we really wouldn't mind seeing again for other projects!
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