A project destined to create a Hypercar for competition in the FIA WEC and a car, the 499P, which allowed different Ferrari teams to work together, developing a car in which the technical and stylistic requirements could find the best synthesis, thus defining a paradigm that would later represent the starting point for the Prancing Horse’s fashion collections. “The challenge we set ourselves,’ says Flavio Manzoni, Chief Design Officer, ‘was to give this car an immediately recognisable design: we wanted the 499P to be the most beautiful hypercar on the grid. An objective for which the experience gained in the past was transferred, with new elements, to a brand new project. “Previously, on cars designed for the track like the FXX K and its Evo version, we had experimented with trying to understand the level of synergy that can be created between designers and engineers,’ continues Manzoni. ‘This, however, was a different project, even more challenging, because the 499P was designed to be a winning car.
The starting point for Centro Stile Ferrari’s work was the ‘technical version, the ‘best of art’ from a technical and aerodynamic point of view, a project that was pure functionality, performance, compliance with homologation rules,’ Flavio Manzoni goes into detail. ‘We then worked to give the 499P that touch that makes it immediately recognisable as a Ferrari. The strong synergy between the technical and styling areas allowed a well-defined path to be put to good use. “The interaction with the 499P project manager, Antonello Coletta (Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti, Editor’s note) was very nice,’ says Manzoni, ‘and the creative and development project that we were able to put into play with Ferdinando Cannizzo’s team (Head of Endurance Race Cars, Editor’s note) was very interesting, with a very high level of understanding.
