Ferrari-designed Santa's sleigh (2010)

Ferrari is used to building high-speed sports cars, but now it's undertaken a far more difficult design study: building the Ferrari sleigh for Father Christmas.

Penned by the design team in Maranello led by Flavio Manzoni, the Ferrari supercar sleigh is said to use many of the design principles which underpin its roadgoing supercars such as the 458 Italia and California.

It’s a lightweight sledge with the iconic Prancing Horse depicted on its flanks and racing numerals on the door panels. The canopy and wings, meanwhile, are reminiscent of the Ferrari 330 P4 racer from the 1960s.

While Ferrari hasn't issued a spec sheet for its Christmas sleigh, we reckon it looks pretty lightweigh; they've even perforated the fuselage to trim the pounds.

He's peeking out of his cockpit with quite a glint in his eye, isn't he? Obviously realises there are only eight delivery days left until Christmas!

Unlike some of the rival sleigh designs, this sledge is set in a picturesque, traditional milieu: an Italian village scene, daubed in fluffy white snow.

It appears so. Ferrari is probably one of the last companies you'd expect to ditch the good old steering wheel, and Santa's hand is left balancing on the rim.

It's not clear what powers the Ferrari Christmas sleigh. This sledge has no wheels or visible powertrain, but the rear aerofoils suggest it may be jet-powered. Or perhaps those turbines run on mincemeat and mulled wine.

Ferrari is one of a number of brands taking part in CAR Magazine’s annual Christmas sleigh competition. Peugeot, Infiniti and Mazda are also designing their own brand’s vision of Santa’s sleigh in 2010.

By Tim Pollard