MYSTERY PROTOTYPE EARLY 90'S...?

My guess a variant of the 412 Prototype:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ferrari+412+prototype&biw=1067&bih=524&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjblNz1v8TPAhWJWCYKHSnUCCQQ_AUIBigB

 

I believe it was the intended replacement for the 412 which never happened and instead they went back to the drawing board and came up with the 456.

Jonathan

 

Thank God they didn't built it!
Pete

 

Agree, looks like an RX7.

 

Absolutely not. No design proposition.
It is a prototype (muletto) to test composite and other body materials, similar to the 412 based Mondial mentioned earlier.

Marcel Massini

 

It is the 408, I believe

 

was this not the 456 mule - that was heavily revised after Montezemolo took over? He reviewed the line up and was extremely dissatisfied ( as well as not happy with his recent 348) and told them to go back to the board... Spy photos at the time show a lot of 412 replacements going around from about 1989, to 1992 ish... then they died down till 456 came out.

 

You believe wrong then! - The 408 test cars were all hard tops that funnily enough, looked like angular Honda/Acura NSX's, they never made a 408 spider.

 

Just googled the 408...thank god they didn't build that. It makes a kit car look like a masterpiece!

 

Is this related to 65201 (I think), the Garrison cabriolet that PF (or Scaglietti?) finished ? Looks similar, but the body in the first post seems to have less curves.

 

Lol, but accurate.
Pete

 

It was a prototype, the looks doesn't matter but it was way ahead of what Ferrari was doing back then. According to Mauro Forghieri, who was the one who designed it, Ferrari made a big mistake not using the alluminium technology developed with it.

 

^ This.

All the published pictures at the time were referring to it as the 412 replacement. I'm sure I can dig some pics up if I look hard enough.

I agree it looked bland, but seemed to be ushering in a new design language - going away from the sweeping roof rail to a wrap-around windshield, similar to what was done on the Pinin (and also 408). I presumed that the wrap-around windshield also facilitated a convertible version by being able to keep the same A-pillars and windshield for both versions - hence the early convertible prototype.

Because of these very advanced prototypes I was very surprised to see the actual 456 when it was unveiled, though I found it to be very original and beautifully detailed.

As Spirot noted, the change in direction may have been LDM's doing, but I'm not sure if the time-line supports this as the final design would have been pretty advanced at the the time of his joining Ferrari prior to the start of production.

On a personal note, while at Maranello in '92 (for an interview with soon-to-be-replaced-by J. Todt F1 chief Claudio Lombardi - which WAS LDM's doing ;-) I actually crosses paths with one of these prototypes! Pretty awesome feeling seeing live a car I'd only seen in magazines. It looked pretty good. Alas, this was pre-iPhone days so not fast enough for a pic.

 

+1

408's were technology demonstrators.

First one (red) was stainless steel construction. The second one (yellow) was aluminum.

Both also had 4WD, I think.

 

That's what I think it is.

Agree about the car with Mondial bumper, but this design is too advanced to be a technology demonstrator, too well finished.

Also, there were coupe versions too and the fact they're camo'd would suggest they're production intent.

 

Yup-first thing I thought of. Rx7 body panels fused onto a mondial (front grille). Never really thought of it but the 456 does look a little like the early 90s rx7. And there was a convertible