Designer
Tamir Mizrahi (26) is a design student from Israel, currently living in Torino, Italy where he studies transportation design. He got a full scholarship at the IAAD university after winning an international design contest.
He started sketching cars in kindergarten and hasn’t stopped since, as all he sees are forms and reflections. Besides his love for automobiles, he is also a tattoo artist and served as a commando soldier.
Project
The concept car is a modern reinterpretation of the classic Ferrari 250 TestaRossa (1957-1961), more specifically the Scaglietti-designed iteration, in the form of a front-engined open-top spyder with a two-seater cabin and exotic styling.
As Tamir describes it: “I have always been a fan of Italian vehicles, but in particular Ferrari. There is something in the fine lines, the endless reflections and the curves and the perfect proportions, alongside an uncompromising engineering.”
“I have been designing cars for almost 15 years as a hobby, but what I experienced at the car show in Turin for the first time, I could not get out of my head. It was the Ferrari 250 TR 1957, with the formidable outtake openings behind the front wheels.”
“For about a year, I drew, learned, and applied Ferrari’s design language in my concept car. I wanted to create something clean and elegant, to honour what I think of as the undisputed king of the road in the late ‘50s. A delicate and powerful beauty that continues tradition.”
The proportions of the 250TR Homage are characterised by a long hood, a tiny windshield, a short opening for the cabin, the total lack of roof, and a long rear deck.
Being a “barchetta”, the car follows the tradition not only of the original racecar, but also of other Ferrari concept cars like the Mythos (1989) and the Rossa (2000) as well as limited production cars like the more recent Monza SP1 and SP2 (2018).
From the profile the car looks balanced. Its muscular body with sexy curves incorporates pontoon-style front fenders inspired by the Scaglietti-bodied 250 Testa Rossa. The strong creases on the bodywork behind the front wheel arches bring lightness and drama to the overall design by creating deep shadows and beautiful highlights.
The main character line looks like a natural continuation of the wheel, dropping slightly towards the back as it fades away in the doors. It also emphasises the length of the bonnet and the huge distance between the front wheels and the tiny windshield.
The waistline is low and, together with the rising upper line of the carbon fibre side sills (which integrate the dual exhaust pipes), contributes to a light and athletic “hourglass” shape, just like in the Monza SP1 and SP2 (2018).
As for the custom five-spoke wheels, they are finished in gold for a classic Ferrari look.
The front of the 250TR Homage has a dramatic look thanks to the three-dimensional treatment. The protruding grille with the Ferrari emblem sits very close to the ground, dictating the shape of the sharp nose and the long bonnet.
As a signature element, the vertically-positioned LED headlights are integrated into the side air intakes for an aggressive look.
Below, the large splitter made from carbon fibre contributes to the overall visual lightness allowing a “floating” design theme for the hypercar’s face.
Moving to the back, the long rear deck sits lower than the rear fenders, which end in small and high-set LED taillights. The designer’s goal was to reinterpret the classic lines of the original in a modern way.
From the rear three-quarter view it also bears a resemblance to the Porsche Boxster (1993) concept car, although this wasn’t necessarily intentional.
In some sketches we can see a more traditional layout with dual buttresses behind the headrests but for the final design a cleaner look was selected (maybe they can be an add-on). Below the sharp edge of the tail, the rear bumper has a double diffuser and a centrally mounted exhaust pipe (the fifth one overall).
Verdict
The 250TR Homage might be an exotic spider, but it has a distinctive character that differentiates it from the stunning Monza SP1 and SP2 hypercars irrespective of their similarities.
While it is usually very hard for an independent designer to grasp the essence of Ferrari’s design language, Tamir managed to create a very sexy concept car proudly wearing the Ferrari emblem.
The balanced proportions, muscular body, clean surfacing and considered design details of the 250TR Homage make it worthy of attracting the interest of car collectors – in case it was ever hand-built in limited numbers – and this is a compliment.
If you liked the Ferrari 250TR Homage, you can find more examples of Tamir’s work on his Instagram.
Disclaimer: The Ferrari 250TR Homage was independently designed by Tamir Mizrahi for show purposes as a free-time project, and is not associated with Ferrari.
