Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Auto

How I Spent (Imaginary) $398,000 Designing a Custom Ferrari

Steven John
By

I recently enjoyed the opportunity of “spending” $398,000 in about an hour’s worth of time. How? By custom designing a Ferrari F8 Tributo thanks to the Ferrari Tailor-Made program. The good news is that it was all just for fun and to learn about the process of custom designing a Ferrari. The bad news is that I’m not getting my custom F8, which will remain nothing more than a digital rendering that lives in my heart.

New York’s new Ferrari Tailor Made space is one of only three places in the world where you can enjoy this almost laughably luxurious experience. The other Tailor Made locations are at the Ferrari factory in Italy and in Shanghai. Thus customers who won’t settle for an as-is Ferrari from the lot are beginning to flock to the corner of Park Avenue and 55th Street. Okay, maybe flock is a strong word, but when one does want to build his or her own custom supercar, Ferrari of New York is where one will head.

Ferrari 488 Pista Tailor Made
Ferrari 488 Pista Ferrari

When you enter the showroom, you are met with several gorgeous Ferraris (I noted an F8 Tributo and GTC4Lusso) arranged about a spacious but elegantly simple room. The cars are the statements here. For clients only interested in a moderate level of customization — say, choosing from a dozen different types of leather for the seats — a 20-by-20-foot room on the right-hand side of the main showroom awaits. There, you can pick and choose from among a number of steering wheel options, upholstery details, exterior colors, and so on.

Recommended Videos

But for the true hands-on custom-designed Tailor-Made experience, you step into the room in the back. There, you can take inspiration from three different stations with a number of carefully curated customizable elements laid out. Inspiration is there at the ready for you whether you prefer a classically informed car, a sportier, racing-inspired vehicle, or a modern and sleek Ferrari.

Ferrari Portofino Tailor Made
Ferrari Portofino Ferrari

But don’t worry if inspiration doesn’t strike or if you didn’t come in knowing just what you wanted, you will have a personal designer to walk you through every step of the way. From dozens of different exterior color options arranged in panels on the wall to multiple choices for seat type to the color and accents on the dashboard to the stitching on your seats, you and your designer will work through every step of the process to create exactly the Ferrari you want.

Related

But hey, what if you don’t see a paint color you like? Or if none of the upholstery quite suits you? No problem. Ferrari can create new original colors and can use a fabric you bring in to create the seating. Within reason, that is. There will never be a pink Ferrari produced nor one with, say, fleece seats. This is a custom process, but the carmaker has certain standards that won’t flex.

Ferrari 812 Superfast Tailor Made
Ferrari 812 Superfast Ferrari

The F8 I designed wasn’t particularly lavish and I kept the colors and details rather demure, yet the customizations added nearly a hundred grand to the price of the vehicle. And they would have added at least six months’ lead time, as well. Some customers must wait a year for their custom car, but when you’re spending enough money to buy a house on a nice plot of land, you may be willing to be patient.

Or in my case, you have to settle for a PDF of the vehicle you designed but will only drive in your mind. At least I can do that any time…

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Steven John
Steven John
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven John is a writer and journalist living just outside New York City, by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, by way of…
What does interval mean in Formula 1?
Time intervals have three different purposes in Formula 1.
Yuki Tsunoda driving a Formula One racecar for Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda.

Formula 1 racing is the top level of motorsports and is gaining fans rapidly in the United States. Since F1 racing began in 1950, it has always been an international competition. Formula 1 is governed by The Fedération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA F1 Regulations specify the technical, sporting, and financial operations of the ten teams in each year's F1 season. Some people find F1 racing hard to understand because certain terms aren't used in typical ways. For example, the word "interval" has three meanings in F1 racing, all related to time between cars, but for different purposes. We break out the three meanings of time intervals below.
Why time intervals are important in F1 racing

The time gaps between cars in Formula 1 races are often measured in fractions of a second as 20 cars speed around tracks, often reaching speeds over 200 mph. Sometimes, the time difference between the first and last cars finishing a race can be just a few seconds, showing how closely they compete. It's not unusual for cars to finish within tenths or hundredths of a second of each other, so timing is crucial in F1 racing.

Read more
Maserati rounds off its 2025 Folgore lineup with an electric GranCabrio
Maserati's sports convertible goes all-electric
Maserati GranCabrio Folgore

Maserati has unveiled the final piece of its 2024 electrification puzzle in the form of the GranCabrio Folgore -- an all-electric version of its new convertible. The battery-powered roadster was unveiled as part of “Folgore Days,” a celebration of Maserati’s new electric lineup held in Italy’s motor valley. Folgore Days itself is following on from the Formula E racing weekend at Misano World Circuit -- with Maserati being the only luxury brand represented in the electric racing series.

The Trident has gone all out with its latest offering, producing what it claims is the fastest electric convertible on the market. It can do 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and is capable of hitting speeds of just over 180 miles per hour. As with many of Maserati’s sportier offerings, “Corsa Mode” is available and is the easiest way to get the most out of your electric Maserati. The vehicle produces just over 750 horsepower, though with boost, this can briefly reach around 820 horsepower. So the GranCabrio sits alongside its hard-top sibling as the most powerful vehicle Maserati currently offers.

Read more
This is what’s new with the 2025 Subaru Forester
Rather than reinvent models every few years, Subaru focuses on improving each model incrementally.
Right side profile shot of a 2025 Subaru Forester parked on a stone drive in front of a multiple story stone mansion.

Subaru introduced the sixth-generation 2025 Forester SUV in five trim levels. The sixth variant, the Forester Wilderness, remains unchanged for 2025 because Subaru redesigned the 2024 version of the more rugged, off-road trim. Like all Subaru SUVs and most sedans, the 2025 Forester trims have full-time, symmetrical all-wheel drive (AWD), four-cylinder Boxer internal combustion engines (ICEs), and continuously variable transmissions (CVTs).
Why 2025 Subaru Forester trim levels matter

Unless you already own a Subaru, and even then, discerning the changes between years is difficult. Walk on a Subaru dealership lot with new cars mixed with used models, and it's easy to mistake a 10-year-old Forester or Outback for a spanking new version. Subaru doesn't make drastic design changes. The brand's value point is based on reliability and durability, much more than attracting attention with spiffy new profiles.

Read more