Fellini, Ferrari, and a Special Order
Monday, December 21, 2009 at 2:27PM ;)
Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta - inspired by FelliniI must give a big shout out to The Impossible Cool for posting a few items on Twitter about this subject. From the moment I read them, I knew I had to dig a little deeper...
Apparently the House of Ferrari is creating a special order design for a very wealthy client. A bespoke version of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is being created for Mr. Edward Walson, son of the inventor of cable television. His inspiration for the car? None other than the Ferrari shown in Federico Fellini's short film Toby Dammit; one of three short films that comprise the full Histoires Extraordinaires. The other two shorts were filmed by Roger Vadim and Louis Malle, in one of those random "omnibus" movies that almost never works entirely well. Indeed, the Fellini segment is considered the best of the three in the film.
The Histories Extraordinaires were based upon a few of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, with Toby Dammit being based upon "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" from 1841. An incredible example of Fellini's high surrealism, with over-done art direction, dreaminess, and hallucinations, this short is indeed a nightmare worthy of Poe. The hellish pressure of celebrity is also explored, not unlike 8 1/2. Terence Stamp plays the leading role looking a bit like Jude Law crossed with the Vampire Lestat. He rambles lines from Macbeth, cries, breaks down...and then gets paid for his services with a Ferrari from a mysterious guy in an alley. Not just any Ferrari, but one of those curvaceous and streamlined late 1960s models that looks like something out of the Spy Vs. Spy comics from Mad Magazine. And the color is amazing: a warm burnished goldish-bronze. Something that looks that good could only be made for evil.
I do think it's amazing that someone used this film, this movie car, this fantasty to create their ultimate dream of a toy. I firmly believe that if you have that kind of money you should spend it on this kind of outrageousness (after a matching gift to a great charity, of course). This is the kind of extravagance that keeps luxury true to form: custom designs, personalization, and inspired by pure flight of fancy.
What do you think?
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