Ferrari Opens ‘Non solo Rosse’ Exhibition

Galleria Ferrari opened the ‘Non solo Rosse' exhibition in Maranello last weekend, devoted to the fascinating subject of color in Ferrari's history and output. The show, which will remain open until April 30th 2010, tells the story of the evolution of the colors that have become signatures of both the Prancing Horse's road and competition models, using some very special cars, the works of painter Enzo Naso and in-depth information. 

The very first Ferrari built in 1947, the 125 S, and the F2008 begin visitors' journey into the world of Ferrari Red. Their route takes them from the very first Rosso Granata of the 1950s, the official color of all Italian racing cars since the early 20th century, to the newest metallic variation sported by the  F2007, via the various other shades of red - Rosso Cherry, Cina, Cordoba, Dino and Rubino - that have made Ferrari a international icon. Also on display is an ampoule of the Rosso Corsa paint, used for the Formula 1 single-seater, which was sent, fittingly enough, to the red planet, Mars, aboard the Mars Express space probe in 2003.

As the exhibition title declares, there is more color in the world of Ferrari than red. The exhibition continues, in fact, with a stunning collection of cars, from the unique FXX in  Blu Tour de France with Bianco Evo details, to the 1959  400 Superamerica in Argento Luna (a one-off built for Gianni Agnelli), and the brand-new  Ferrari 458 Italia in a  three-layer Giallo Modena livery. Also on display are test pieces by the Chinese artist Lu Hao, who recently created a one-off version of the 599 GTB Fiorano China Limited Edition, using a special paint to mimic the typical cracked glaze of  the peerless Song Dynasty Ge Kiln porcelains. The car was auctioned off in Beijing last night, with the winning €1.2m bid going to a buyer in Shanghai.

Visitors to the exhibition are also taken through the various interior leather and contrasting stitching colors which clients choose as part of the personalization of their Ferraris, all the way to the newly introduced One-Off program which really does ensure that each car is unique. 

The exhibition is completed by an in-depth investigation into the painting processes used at Maranello. This includes a model of the Paint Technologies Pavilion, the most advanced facility of its kind in Europe, and a video illustrating all of the various stages involved in the paint process at Ferrari. Visitors also get to see an example of a piece of paintwork in various stages ranging from cataphoresis to final finishing layer. 

By Eric Gallina