Top 5 Disliked Ferraris Of All Time

Ferrari and the colour red have been synonymous for a little over seven decades now. Like the colour, Ferrari is all about energy, passion, desire and love. It also stands for war - like Enzo Ferrari’s legendary battles with Ford and Porsche on the racetrack, and Lamborghini and Bizzarini on the streets. Over the years, the Maranallo-based firm has built some of the most iconic cars to ever grace tarmac. These include the legendary F40, the Testarossa and even cars that could rival the GDP of a small nation, like the 250 GTO.

However, Ferrari has also proven time and again that everyone, no matter how big or strong, goes through a slump in form as well. Take for instance its inability to win a constructor’s title in Formula 1 in over a decade. Here, we bring you five instances when Ferrari has failed to titillate the masses with its supercars.

1. 330 GT 2+2 Navarro

Admittedly, this long wedge of gold is the work of Piero Drogo and his coachbuilding firm, Carrozzeria Sports Cars, and not Ferrari itself. Nonetheless, it deserves a place on our list for being one of the most hideous Ferraris of all time. The 330 GT 2+2 Navarro definitely isn’t one of the highlights of the firm that was also known for building the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Breadvan designed by Bizzarini. Commissioned by Italian nightclub owner Norbert Navarro, the car began life as a regular 1966 330 GT 2+2 Series II, one of the best looking Ferraris in its own right (see below).

The smooth front and rear section made way for a long bonnet, pronounced front and rear overhangs, angular body panels and narrow fins that flowed from the rear of the car to the roof, making sure the car stood out in a crowd. The original wire wheels were replaced with alloy wheels.

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The car was known by different names through the ages, including the ‘Golden Car’ (for its paint and badges on the rear fin), ‘Drogo Speciale’ and ‘Navarros Special’.

The Navarro was powered by a 4.0-litre Ferrari V12 that offered somewhere close to 300PS of power. The car was later imported to the US and changed hands multiple times before being auctioned off again at Gooding’s Pebble Beach 2014.

Also Read: Enzo Ferrari: Love It, Hate It. You Can’t Ignore It

2. Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2, 400 and 402 

Yes, the title for the ugliest Ferrari of all time is actually shared between three cars. Although they sport different names they had a lot more in common, including the same body, chassis and an engine that went through a series of changes throughout the years. These front-engined V12 2+2 grand tourers are so ugly and under appreciated that they are perhaps the most affordable Ferraris you can buy today.

Built between 1972 and 1989, these cars were designed by Pininfarina, the Italian car design firm that is now owned by our very own Mahindra. The three-box design splits opinions to this day. While many bemoaned the lack of any curves in the sheet metal, others liked the idea of a subtle, gentleman’s grand tourer.

These cars also hold the distinction of being in production longer than any other body styles. The 400, which came in 1976, was, in fact, the first-ever Ferrari to be equipped with an automatic gearbox - a 3-speed from GM. The 400i that followed it featured fuel-injection instead of the six Weber carburetors. Later, many coachbuilders like Straman and Carrozzeria Pavesi even offered convertible conversions for the 400 series. These were quite ugly, to say the least. Just take a look at the image below.

3. Ferrari FZ93 Zagato

This bizzare Ferrari is an F1-influenced Testarossa that made its debut at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the 512 TR version of one of the coolest cars of the 80s, the Zagato-bodied FZ93 was designed by Ercole Spada and featured a flat-12 engine that put out somewhere around 430PS of power. The two-tone paint and the huge prancing horse sticker distracted the viewer from the actual lines of the car and after the motor show, Zagato promptly re-painted the car and removed all the stickers from the bodywork. However, that didn’t help much either.

Yes, the stylistic creases, huge air intakes and the fine curves look really good when viewed in isolation, but put them together and somehow they make the car look worse. Like most other cars designed by Zagato, it received the famous ‘double bubble’ roof as well. The nose takes inspiration from the 1991 Ferrari 643 F1 race car.

However, the rear end was disproportionate with the front, making every living soul who has ever set eyes on one long for a Pininfarina-designed Testarossa again. However, it’s worth noting that this car did go on to inspire what is probably one of the most iconic Ferraris ever - the Enzo.

Also Read: Enzo Ferrari: The Man Behind The Machines

4. Ferrari F50

Built to celebrate Ferrari’s 50th anniversary, the F50 is probably one of the most hated prancing horses of all time. Most of the hate stems from the fact that it was no way as cool as its predecessor and Enzo Ferrari’s legacy, the legendary F40. While the F40 may have a few awkward lines here and there, the F50 takes it up a notch.

It not only has a weird stance thanks to the increased wheelbase and short overhangs, it also ditched the oh-so-cool louvred rear screen that showcased the F40’s turbo-V8 in all its glory for a flat viewing window that just showed a tiny portion of black plastic with a prancing horse logo on it.

The horrendous headlamps were placed behind randomly shaped glass, separate turn indicators mounted on the bumper and the ghastly troll-like nostrils on the bonnet didn’t help matters either. At the rear, the F40’s central exhausts were replaced with a pair of dual exit exhausts on either side and the spoiler wasn’t as straight edged as the former’s either. And while the F40’s rear mesh revealed the exhaust system and engine, the F50’s only showed bits of the rear suspension. What a shame. After all Ferrari claimed it had a V12 from its F1 cars.

P.S. Only the engine block was the same and it revved to just 8500rpm. What a downer!

5. Ferrari California

Take out your pitchforks and queue up outside our office for we are about to say the most blasphemous statement ever. All modern Fezzas since the 355 and 360 Modena are U-G-L-Y. While we can’t include all of them here, we thought we might as well write a few words about the worst one - the Ferrari California. Just look at it, it’s so hideous we’d rather reject one even if someone offered it for free (not really, it’s still a brilliant car to drive). While it received unfair criticism for being a “a less hairy-chested Ferrari” or a “woman’s Ferrari”, one of the reasons why we find it ugly is the styling of its rump. The high rear deck and oddly stacked quad exhausts (one on top of the other on either side) and the giant black plastic trim in the middle that housed the registration plate are the main culprits here.

Are your eyes watering already? If yes, give them some respite by checking out the 10 most iconic Ferraris of all time here.

The brake lights are a different story altogether. While designing the car, Ferrari thought it’d place circular tail lamps on either side of the rear just like any other car it made. However, with the California being a hard top convertible model, the rear deck lid had to swing open the other way round to stow away the roof. This brought with it a unique issue. In the California’s primary market, the US, laws require the brake lights to be fixed to the body of the car. That’s the reason why cars like the Audi Q3 and Q5 that have tail lamps attached to the tailgate get a separate brake light down on the bumper. Ferrari realised its mistake too late and wasn’t willing to rework the entire car.

Hence, the engineers just placed the tail lights where they had intended and added an extra set of brake lights on the black plastic portion. So while the tail lights come on when you switch on the headlamps, they seem to be broken all the time since they don’t light up when you press the brakes. To make matters worse, the plastic cover for the brake lights (the one on the bumper, get it!) has a smoked-out effect, making it hardly visible in the day. How could a company with 70 years of racing pedigree get such a simple thing so wrong? Go figure.