Located in the Italian town of Modena, the Museo Enzo Ferrari is only 13 miles from the gates to the Ferrari factory in Maranello. Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena and got his racing start there before moving to Maranello. The museum complex includes a former house and workshop that belonged to Enzo’s father and a modern display building. The museum features a mix of permanent and rotating exhibits. It is technically sponsored by a local foundation dedicated to promoting motoring tradition in Modena, but is currently managed by Ferrari. The doors opened in March 2012.
The vaulted ceiling in the main display hall gives each car plenty of room to breathe. Each is perched on their own raised platform with spotlights beaming down from above. With decades of Ferrari history to draw from, the main display hall blends notable classics and modern rarities.
At the time of The Speed Journal’s visit, the museum’s “One of a Kind” exhibition highlighted one-offs and low production cars. This 330 GTC Speciale was shown at the 1967 Brussels Motor Show. It was specially commissioned by Princess Lilian de Rethy who was the wife of Belgium’s King Loepold III. Pininfarina blended design cues from several other Ferraris of the day. Only four were built and each is unique.
The modern version of the front-engine grand tourer was represented by the 2016 F12 Tour de France. This particular TdF was commissioned by the President of Ferrari Club Belgium and highly customized through Ferrari’s Tailor Made program. The inspiration was the #24 red and yellow 1967 330 P4 and the pair were positioned facing each other in the museum.
The stunning 330 P4 has lived a long and complicated life. It has run in numerous different configurations and been restored to its original form where it finished second overall at Le Mans in 1967. Among other twists and turns, the car spent decades in the ownership of the infamous Florida collection of Walter Medlin. Historians debate its originality but the car has a unique place in Ferrari lore.
Two decades earlier, the 166 MM Barchetta was the state of the art for Ferrari competition cars. Any 166 MM would be rare, but the Barchetta on display was one of 25 with a Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera body and the only one painted in two-tone teal and blue. The car also had a notable first owner – Fiat head Gianni Agnelli.
In 1950, Ferrari produced the 195 Inter but bodywork was done by different design houses such as Ghia and Vignale. Of the 28 produced, only 13 were penned by Vignale. A 2.3-litre Colombo V-12 produced 128 horsepower. The dark green body with silver roof is a striking contrast to so many red Ferraris. This example has been in the same local Modena family ownership since 1960 – the family that was the first Ferrari dealership in Modena.
Echoing the theme of customization, the first Monza SP1 was on hand. The SP1 is a low-production model, but this 2018 example was painted in gold – complete with accompanying gold touches on the wheels and interior. The SP1 is distinguishable from the almost identical SP2 – the only difference is the SP1 has a single seat for the driver and the SP2 adds a second seat for a passenger. Continuing the Icona theme, a carbon-look SP3 Daytona looked menacing in black.
The 1954 500 Mondial Spider raced at Monza before finding its way to California and racing at Willow Springs, Palm Springs and Mexico City. The red example on display in the museum is one of only 13 built with bodywork designed by Pininfarina and one of only five early series cars with covered headlights.
The P80/C was commissioned by a private collector in 2015 as a one-off track day special. It is based on the 488GT3, but was not constrained by any racing rulebook. The development process took several years and Ferrari’s Special Projects division handled the project. The bodywork is red (Rosso Vero) and all the additional aerodynamic pieces are black. There have been other SP cars, but the P80/C was the first based on a competition chassis which made it a good fit for the “One of a Kind” theme.
While Ferraris can be visually compelling on the outside, the engine is their heartbeat on the inside. The Motori exhibition was dedicated exclusively to Ferrari powerplants, with a particular emphasis on racing engines. A timeline of engine types spread on the wall showed the evolution of the Ferrari Formula One engine.
Modern Ferrari Formula One cars have raced in different eras with different engine designs. The classic V-12 no longer roams F1 tracks, but guests get a close look of a Ferrari V-12 F1 engine. Artistry extends beyond the bodywork to the engineering and design that is a Ferrari 12 cylinder racing engine.
In addition to V-6 and V-8 engines, a V-10 engine sat nearby. Comparing and contrasting engine types is rare opportunity.
A 2003 spec F1 car nearby raced with a V-10 engine. After seeing the size of the engines alone, it was difficult to imagine how they could possibly be packaged within the tight bodywork.
This 2.9L twin-turbo V-8 came from the F40 – as close as Ferrari dared get to a race car for the road in 1987. The museum displayed this engine with turbos, gearbox and, exhaust, and other accompanying parts.
The presence of Ferrari founder and namesake Enzo Ferrari permeated everything. The building has Ferrari connections and the museum features many early cars that bore his touch and showed his vision. While many remember Il Commendatore in his later years behind dark sunglasses, the museum’s giant mural of a smiling younger Enzo at the wheel reminded visitors of the racer’s heart that launched the company.
Most associate Ferrari with Maranello, but a visit to the Modena Museum is an homage to where the journey started for Enzo Ferrari.