Enter this latest project from Niels van Roij Design.
You might think you’re the world’s biggest fan of the Ferrari 250 GTO Breadvan. But there’s another fan out there. One so inspired by that beautiful racer that they’re having a design studio build them an homage. The good part for us, though, is that London studio Niels van Roij Design will be sharing the build process through weekly updates on social media.
The Breadvan Ferrari was born in 1961 when privateer racer Giovanni Volpi snatched up the prancing horse’s technical director and design boss. A furious Enzo Ferrari then refused to sell Volpi any more cars. So he bought a prior-year 250 GT SWB and had Giotto Bizzarrini upgrade it to beat the newer and faster GTO.
It worked, and was significantly faster than the GTOs. Until it broke. But it had two class wins in 1962 and many more since. Because the one-off racer has seen action in vintage racing since 1973.
You can’t buy that car, and even if you could it would probably take the best part of $100 million. But that doesn’t stop you taking the idea and making your own.
Enter this latest project from Niels van Roij Design. The London-based firm is responsible for projects like a Tesla Model S Wagon. A Rolls-Royce Shooting Brake. And concepts for a future London Taxi.
“We see it as a great privilege that we can honour the Breadvan through this Hommage commission,” says Van Roij. “It is a complex task to translate the essence of the legendary original into a contemporary design. We intend to be inspired by the original, but will ensure we are not limited by it in our creativity”.
An admirer of the Italian wagon wanted to recognize it with a new car of their own. Van Roij will be completing what it calls a full re-body and major interior changes to a vehicle to create this Hommage.
We don’t yet know what the underlying model will be. But we will get to see weekly updates as the studio completes this one-off creation. Neils van Roij Design will show the creation step by step. The updates will be put on the studio’s social media pages for followers of the company to see.
Yes, this is all a little vague. But it sounds like a cool project with an interesting inspiration. One that we’ll be able to watch unfold. And that’s pretty unusual for a real one-off coach built car.
Keyword: London Design House is Bringing Back the Ferrari 250 GTO Breadvan