Ferrari has a new grey, our 812 TM experience | FerrariChat

Ferrari has a new grey, our 812 TM experience

Discussion in 'F12/812' started by Lukeylikey, Mar 22, 2018.

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  1. Lukeylikey

    Lukeylikey F1 Rookie
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    Mar 3, 2012
    3,053
    UK
    I decided to start this thread to share an experience that I think is worth sharing; the creation of our first tailor made Ferrari. No doubt it will go quiet long before the car arrives but when it does I will resurrect it for people to make up their mind whether they like the idea we ended up with and whether that idea translated successfully into the finished car.


    It really started when I was invited to the 812 customer preview at Fiorano. I had already an idea what the car would look like thanks to some fchat renders but when I saw the car in real life, it was an easy choice to ask for an allocation. I loved the look straight away and have regularly posted to that effect since. I have not changed my mind. Without wanting to disrespect the beautiful F12, the 812 just hits the spot for me. The controversial elements, such as the rear of the car, have never challenged me . Perhaps because I saw the car for the first time in reality rather than photographs I understood and approved of it immediately.


    I requested a TM appointment which both my wife and I attended this week. The appointment was preceded by many months of flicking through photographs and liveries of Ferraris from the distant past as well as the more recent. Constant reading of fchat threads and trying to pick up any advice followed. ‘Be prepared’ seems to be a good summary of all that advice. Someone suggested to go pre-armed with a couple of ideas, perhaps racing liveries from old cars that mean something or that you can connect with. It was still quite hard to narrow it down though. I started with the 365 GTB, the Daytona. At the preview I felt that the car reminded me of the 365 and that I could sense some similar design language, especially around the rear three quarter and the way the car flares out in that area. One of the designers confirmed to me that the 365 had indeed been an influence as the 812 took shape.


    I checked the racing 365s and soon began to look at my favourite GT race - Le Mans. I have been many times and love the event. A number of 365s sported a stripe that seemed to dissect the whole car, running from under the rear bumper, up and over the roof and bonnet, flowing back underneath the front. In 1972 the 365 first won its class at Le Mans, however the winning car had a livery I didn’t really feel would suit the 812. Some of the striped cars that I liked, did well but didn’t win. Did it matter? Probably not.


    Our plan was to do a grey car, probably mid to dark, but with a subtle but (to me) exciting twist. The first idea was to then add the ‘Daytona’ stripe in a lighter grey - subtle but inspired by the race car without exactly looking like it. The rear diffuser on the 812 didn’t naturally lend itself to that stripe though. I then noticed another car, the Maranello GB Concessionaires racing team’s 365. It didn’t finish, and I didn’t really fancy the colour scheme, but the striping was striking. In fact it was the famous Gulf stripe, just not in what were the familiar blue and orange Gulf colours. Our idea was to emulate the striping in shades of grey rather than the red and baby blue of the racing team.


    After months of deliberation we were all set. Except I still found myself sifting through other pictures in search of ideas. This is a disease! And in my continued searching I found an interesting and very unique 1953 car. I followed the theme of winning Ferraris and wondered what was the first key Ferrari win. Turns out that came in 1949 with Luigi Chinetti at the wheel of a 166M. I googled “grey racing livery, 166M” and came across a rare car with a livery quite different to others from the period. Its story was that it raced in various races including the Tour de France, then after the TDF it had a new body put on the old chassis (see where we’re going with this...)


    The livery was a dark matt colour, described as black but more dark grey in appearance from the photographs, with a rich red stripe on the bonnet that ended ahead of the windscreen but was also featured on the sills (picture below). The interior was equally arresting, especially given its vintage. I was not around in 1953 but I would guess this was quite futuristic. The coach builder was a company called Oblin and the car is the 166MM Oblin Barchetta, a one-off. The idea of designing our car, an object that would become personal to us, based on a car whose path had never crossed ours except via iPad seemed odd though. More than that, it was not my wife’s favoured design as we entered the tailor made suite - her preference was the Maranello Concessionaires theme with its gaping mouth and subtle grey on grey. My daughter, who is an interior designer, preferred the Oblin car’s design though.


    As we walked into the studio, after some typically tasty pasta and a glass or so of wine, I was uncertain how this was going to go. We had a plane to catch and I already felt we might be pushed for time. Quickly, we got to it and were able to flick through what is now an arresting back-catalogue of designs that tailor made have produced. The Maranello Concessionaires theme was quickly dismissed since it was not easy to do well on the 812 and when you’re surrounded by the colour of the TM suite and the vibrant designs on screen we wondered if a stronger, more definitive idea would be better rather than taking a famous old racing livery and apologising for it by greying it out. So we asked about the Oblin design. In fact, someone had already done it on a 488. When we saw the picture our reaction was instant - we wanted to do our own take on it. It will make a grey car quite bold, and perhaps grey cars should not be that, but we didn’t care. I believe a Ferrari should still be a definite thing, clear and concise in its execution, even when just considering the exterior and interior appearance and materials. We wanted subtle but vivid, and this certainly filled that brief perfectly. In the end, selecting our design was easier than I thought but it only became completely clear to us once in the suite. We had a maximum of two and a half hours and we thought we would be ok because our decisions began to come quicker. We were wrong though - you need three.


    The tailor made team checked out that it was ok to use the livery, and were granted permission on condition that the final design could be seen. As the basis for our take on this famous 166MM we wanted a different kind of grey to those Ferrari usually offer and I had something in mind. When I was much younger my father was the UK importer for Maserati and De Tomaso. He once had a De Tomaso Deauville, painted in a heavily flecked graphite colour with a bold, gold stripe. Great car, and for months it was the colour in my head. Subtle and vivid, “it’s grey, but not as we know it Jim...”


    An unused colour, newly supplied from PPG was suggested and without looking at alternatives we both knew it was the colour we wanted. It is a triple layer, dark grey but with plenty of vibrancy and life going on. It is a mica paint and in the photos of the swatches (below) appears busier than in real life, but no doubt this will be quite a bold grey, if such a thing seems possible. We named the colour Grigio Isabel after our first granddaughter, who has been such a blessing from God to our family. The red colour was easy too - Rosso Maranello, another mica three-layer paint, and one we used for our Speciale, so the two cars will in that way be linked. The Speciale is a keeper and I think the 812 will be very hard for us to part with so they will likely stay together.


    There are other details we have included to adapt the 166MM’s theme to the 812 both inside and out, plus we have a kind of motif that we use on every car, a variant of which is included again. Overall, tailor made is a wonderful experience that allows you to immerse yourself in Ferrari if you research your ideas. You learn plenty of fascinating Ferrari facts and stories on the way - even before you set foot anywhere near the factory. The staff are highly talented and knowledgeable as well as understanding and sympathetic to both the brand and the art of design itself. They make the whole experience a real pleasure and thanks must go to them.


    I think our car will be about a year away and I plan to do The Mille Miglia with friends for my 50th birthday next year. Can’t think of a better car to do it in - a Ferrari V12. Indeed their most powerful front-engined V12, inspired by one of their prettiest, from the era of the race itself.


    Happy to know if you like what we did - and I fully expect people to say if they don’t, either the paint colour or the design itself, and that will be fine. I’ll post back photographs when the car arrives but don’t mind posting a couple of the renders in the meantime.
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  2. Lukeylikey

    Lukeylikey F1 Rookie
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    Swatches
     

    Attached Files:

  3. ajr550

    ajr550 Formula Junior

    Apr 6, 2014
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    Andrew Roberts
    Great post.Will follow with interest.
    May well do MM again next year so will look out for a special grey 812 with racing stripe !
     
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  4. Lukeylikey

    Lukeylikey F1 Rookie
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    Great, if we manage to get it all sorted, please introduce yourself to me! Cheers
     
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  5. ajr550

    ajr550 Formula Junior

    Apr 6, 2014
    947
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    Andrew Roberts
    Will do.It depends on my 812 arriving by then as well !
     
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  6. chrixxx

    chrixxx Formula Junior
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    Mar 22, 2004
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    Lucerne
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    Chris
    simply stunning.... wow...
     
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  7. greyboxer

    greyboxer F1 World Champ

    Dec 8, 2004
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    Jimmie
    Fantastic experience & color scheme

    Was this when they were in Beavor Lane Hammersmith ?
     
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  8. killer58

    killer58 Formula 3

    Jun 30, 2010
    1,189
    CA & DC
    Subtle yet evocative - a beautiful design.
    Your hours of research and deliberation are eveident in the presentation.
    Congratulations in advance.
     
  9. subirg

    subirg F1 Rookie

    Dec 19, 2003
    4,186
    Cheshire
    Winner! What a great outcome for you!
     
  10. ml321

    ml321 Formula Junior

    Aug 26, 2008
    254
    London/Munich
    Looks really amazing - personally I think I would prefer it without the yellow shields with grey ones on the rims
     
  11. JagShergill

    JagShergill Formula 3

    Dec 31, 2014
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    Jag shergill

    Wow!! Truly amazing my friend !!! An absolute beautiful and beautifully thought out design!! I genuinely think that’s such a classical look with a modern twist , and naming it after your grand-daughter is a fabulous touch !!!!! Congrats buddy !!! I LOVE it !!! Btw , I’m turning 50 next summer too so if there’s room for me to join the convoy I’m Game to bring and go in mine too ....
     
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  12. dcmetro

    dcmetro F1 Veteran

    Nov 27, 2007
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    Olivier
    the thread title almost made me come.

    Amen
     
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  13. adci

    adci Karting

    Oct 3, 2016
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    AD
    Amazing ! I can't wait to do mine.
     
  14. Lukeylikey

    Lukeylikey F1 Rookie
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    Mar 3, 2012
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    Deal - let's do it! Let's discuss more when we next meet or you could e-mail/pm me. Thanks everyone for the comments, approve, disapprove, it's all good. ML321, as for the shields, the actual car doesn't have them but I just couldn't do it. The painted shields are so nice on the 812 that I had to invoke the artistic licence clause....you know, the one that says if you like it do it! I can certainly see your point though. I also thought about the wheel centres, in fact I have done the wheel centres in GS on my GS with silver wheels Lusso. Again decided against it but might change my mind.
     
  15. Lukeylikey

    Lukeylikey F1 Rookie
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    I take it the colour has approval from the World Council of Grey then...?!
     
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  16. MAPS

    MAPS Karting

    Jan 13, 2017
    58
    Porto, Portugal
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    Marco Silva
    Wow, such a striking and beautiful combination! Congratulations for the great taste (and the 812)
     
  17. Dolceexte

    Dolceexte Formula 3

    Dec 20, 2015
    1,008
    Congrats amazing journey!
     
  18. Challenge64

    Challenge64 F1 Veteran
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    Ron
    Avia11, mkultra, F2003-GA and 2 others like this.
  19. Garretto

    Garretto F1 Rookie

    Sep 3, 2003
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    Rodolfo Di Pietro
    The inverted stripe is a fresh take and the side stripes are very interesting. Congratulations!
     
  20. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
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    Jun 11, 2013
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    #20 Caeruleus11, Mar 22, 2018
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2018
    Absolutely fantastic experience, thank you for sharing! And what a wonderful honor to name the color after your granddaughter. Your family is now even more linked into Ferrari. That is really something very special!

    It's a very special spec you have chosen. I would like to see how the stripe works on the front of the car, does it expand a bit like on the 166? It is a lovely shade of grey, and I like how the side stripes pull the stripe theme to the back of the car, but avoiding the typical roof and rear stripe locations. Very well done. I would agree you could decide to do the wheel caps in either black or CF- I would suggest black glossy with brushed Cavallino Rampante.

    I'm only sharing my thoughts as you asked. I'm just less certain regarding the interior. I would like to see more to know for sure, but it comes across, to me at least, that the exterior is so special and well thought out, and the interior is just much more straightforward and even a bit plain. I can understand why you might want it that way, but I decided to say something only because I think Ferrari offers so many interesting colors and options, I think it's worth your consideration. I'd like to see more of the dotted lines on the doors, will that be stitched or painted? On the 166 I think its actually stitched. I notice the interior of the 166 looks like its dark blue. That might be an interesting angle to explore.

    No matter what, I think you and Tailor Made have achieved something very special! Congratulations!
     
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  21. JagShergill

    JagShergill Formula 3

    Dec 31, 2014
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    Jag shergill
    Fab - lets chat over the next few weeks and sort .... in the meantime I'm smitten with your car
     
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  22. Robert P

    Robert P Formula Junior

    Feb 10, 2014
    358
    London
    Absolutely stunning!!
     
  23. montpellier

    montpellier Formula Junior

    Aug 27, 2009
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    Paul
    Really like the grey and red , will look amazing I am sure. I agree the 812 is a design that is far better live. What are you doing with the cup holder ??? It is my dilemma, it is the most awful piece of cheap plastic ever. I don't want any carbon so need inspiration. For a cup holder... Even looking at getting something made post delivery with rapid prototyping.
     
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  24. JagShergill

    JagShergill Formula 3

    Dec 31, 2014
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    Jag shergill
    :) :)
     
  25. Bundy

    Bundy Formula 3

    May 18, 2011
    2,374
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    Full Name:
    Anir
    A very elegant & sporty design, and a beautiful tribute to your cherished granddaughter. It’s not always easy to adapt the 1950’s and 60’s liveries to the modern lines, but you and the talented TM team nailed it.

    We did our 812S TM visit last September, and never strongly considered a stripe. After seeing your beauty (and Mark Moon’s TM example), maybe we should have! I won’t make that “mistake” with the Pista.

    Good luck with the wait. The pace of 812S allocations has been sloooow, at least here in the U.S. Our build was originally slated to start in January.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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