Car Wash: Flavio Manzoni and the Ferrari Daytona SP3

Mr. Manzoni, is there any other way to wash a Ferrari than with your own hands?

The act of stroking the curves of a car is something that happens even as a new model is being created. We do it every day at the design center when we sculpt. Also, having the chance to wash the car means truly feeling it with all your senses. I own two Ferraris: a 308 GTB, the dream car of my youth, and a Roma. A few times, I’ve had the opportunity to wash them in Sardinia, where I have a house near the sea, under the sun in the garden.

Let’s talk about the Ferrari Daytona SP3: V12, naturally aspirated, non-electric. Aside from positioning the product, this is also a form of brand design. Do you as chief designer have a say in these sorts of strategic, technical decisions?

The best way to answer your question is to point out that the Icona series, whose limited-edition models recall Ferrari’s glory days in racing and whose third model is the Ferrari Daytona SP3 unveiled in 2021, was somehow my suggestion. Louis Camilleri, our CEO at the time, was immediately taken with the idea.

The Ferrari Daytona SP3 is a clear reference to the 
brand’s motor racing past. How important 
are such ­emotionally charged flagship models for a brand like Ferrari?

Very important! The triple victory at Daytona in 1967 – two 330 P3/P4s followed by a 412 – was a triumph in a class of its own. We took all three podium places – in the home country of our great rival Ford! Tragically, winning driver Lorenzo Bandini was killed in an accident at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco later that year. Anyway, the Ferrari Daytona SP3, like its predecessors Ferrari Monza SP1 and Ferrari Monza SP2, plays a symbolically significant role for the brand.

Should a Ferrari always be freshly polished?

When a Ferrari comes back dirty after an intense track day, then that’s a beautiful sight – but only for a brief moment. Then the car should be washed. Right away. I’m a designer and I love reflections, and you can’t see reflections in the dirt.

Were you a fan of Ferrari when you were young?

Yes. I was drawing Ferraris already when I was a little boy. They sprang from my imagination. I always dreamed of becoming an automobile designer, though for a long time I couldn’t imagine that this dream would one day come true. And at Ferrari, for that matter!

Though you first became an architect . . .

I had already drawn countless automotive ­sketches by the time I was sixteen, but I didn’t know what to do with them. My uncle was ­friends with a journalist and illustrator for the motoring magazine Autosprint, Giorgio Piola, and he ­showed him my work. Piola was excited and even published some of them. He got in touch with me, and I asked him how I could become a car ­designer. His suggestion was to study ­architecture and draw a car for the industrial design exam. I did that, and the rest is history. By the way, I’m extremely proud of the fact that I was able to build our Centro Stile, where we are now, in my capacity as an architect.

Do you like the terms “artwork” and
 “collector’s item”?

What’s there not to like? I’m a passionate ­collector, mainly of modern art: sculptures, paintings, chairs, radios and more. And to be honest, I prefer Italian designers or artists, ­people like Marco Zanuso, Bruno Munari, Marco Bellini or Achille Castiglioni. I also collect watches and pianos. I own a beautiful concert grand from Steinway, the Model D, the Ferrari of grand pianos. I love playing the piano. As for the second part of your question: good customers actually drive our cars. There are plenty of events held on public roads or on the track where they can clock up more than enough miles and really go wild.

How forcefully does Ferrari take action against speculative buyers?

We are a small car manufacturer, and exclusivity has always been one of our key values together with performance, design and driving thrills. Our commercial strategy is therefore designed to reward the real and passionate Ferraristi, whether they are long-term collectors or driving-thrills lovers who are new to the brand. Even if we can’t avoid speculative behavior altogether, we do define upfront eligibility criteria especially for our special series, the Icona series and our supercars based on the client’s relationship with and attitude towards the brand.

You’ve been with Ferrari since 2010. 
Do you see design differently today than you did when you started?

I’ve designed everything from daily drivers to street-legal racing cars. For me, it has always been important to find the right form that represents the spirit of the project. I’m talking about the design without any decoration – design, not styling. There are so many cars in the world these days that are styled more than they are designed. Cars with exhaust systems, air intakes and diffusers that are completely unnecessary, that only serve as ornamentation. Pure kitsch. Fake. Since I started working for Ferrari, I have learned that design entails the typical approach of form follows function – not in a strict rational or functional way, but always seeking to give an artistic touch to the object.

So a Ferrari has to be beautiful first, and then fast. In that order?

Beautiful and fast, both of them. The final product is the result of a synergy between the engineers and the aesthetics experts. From that point of view, the order isn’t actually important. But to answer the second part of your question: One of the requirements of my job is that I must, above all, …

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→ Read the full story in ramp #66 “Drive My Car”.