Ask a car show crowd what the strangest Ferrari ever built might be, and chances are nobody guesses a station wagon with a television in the back seat. But that is exactly what showed up in a short interview on @magnacars, where the host asks a simple question: “What car do you drive?”
The answer comes without a pause: “I drive a 1975 Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2” wagon, he says, and “this is the only one in the world.”
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“It Was Made By A Crazy Guy Who Wanted It For His Kid, As It Turned Out”
When the host asks for the story behind the car, the owner says it is too long to tell in one sitting. The short version is that it is the only one ever made, built by “a crazy guy who wanted it for his kid” and who “wanted something different.”
It certainly is different. The owner calls it “a practical Ferrari,” the kind of car that did not really exist at the time. Ferrari built beautiful coupes and screaming race cars in the 1970s, but nobody was asking for a family hauler with a prancing horse on the nose.
The 365 GT4 2+2 was Ferrari’s four seat grand tourer of the era, a V12 car meant for people who wanted a real Ferrari but had a back seat to fill. This one took the idea a step further by turning the coupe into a wagon.
The Initials “FF” Come From The Last Name Of The Man Who Built It
Here is a fun detail. The host points out that this car is a predecessor of the modern Ferrari FF, the four seat, all wheel drive wagon style V12 that Ferrari introduced in 2011. The owner agrees: “Absolutely.”
Then he adds a twist. The old car even carries the initials FF, because the man who built it had a last name that started with an F, and the car was a Ferrari. “So he called it an FF like that,” the owner says.
Think about that for a second. Decades before Ferrari put a wagon style body on a flagship V12 and sold it to the public, one man had already done it in the 1970s, with his own initials on the badge.
A Swiss Dealer Friend Said “We Need To Bring This To The United States”
The host wants to know how the owner found the car. The answer is a good friend, a dealer in Switzerland, who told him it should come to America and be shared with the public.
“So we’re doing exactly that,” the owner says.
The car had not been lost for long periods. It belonged to the same owner for a long time, and that owner loved it, but he kept it out of the spotlight. It appeared at some European events, but in the United States, the owner says, almost nobody even knew it existed. “We’re glad to have it here with us.”
Two Antennas, A Back Seat Television And A Vinyl Roof Straight Out Of The 1970s
Then comes the detail that gives the car its personality. The host asks what the two antennas on the car are for. They serve the onboard television in the back, made for the passengers in the rear seats.
The owner explains that it is a four seat Ferrari, “and I guess you don’t want to neglect the back seat passengers.”
The host calls it “absolutely unreal for the 70s,” and the owner answers, “Totally unreal for the 1970s.” A television in a car was nearly unheard of in that decade, when most drivers were happy to have a working AM radio.
Finally there is the vinyl roof, which the owner says is there “to maximize the 1970s experience.” He sums the whole car up in a few words: “It’s really a wild piece.”
Why A One Of One Car Gets Collectors Talking
Cars like this are a favorite at shows because they have no twin. A single car built to one person’s wishes tells a story that a production model never can, and that is where much of the fascination comes from.
If you ever find yourself standing in front of a rare or one off car, there are a few things worth looking at.
- Look at the details. Unusual antennas, an odd roofline or custom interior pieces are clues that something special was done to the car.
- Ask about its history. Owners of rare cars usually love to talk, and the stories are often the best part.
- Remember that provenance matters. A well documented history is what separates a genuine one off from a car that has simply been modified.
- Be curious but careful. Never touch a car at a show without asking, especially one that is the only one of its kind.
For anyone who grew up with station wagons, the idea of a Ferrari wagon is both funny and wonderful. It is proof that even the most serious sports car makers have, at some point, been asked to carry the kids.
And the next time somebody tells you a car is boring because it has a back seat, remember the one built by a crazy guy for his kid, complete with a television and two antennas to prove it.