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Updated: JUL 23rd 2020

Henry Biggs

The six best movie and TV Ferraris

Looking back to a time when cars were inside our screens rather than vice versa and certain brands spring immediately to mind. Aston Martin and James Bond of course. Audi or Lexus in anything futuristic, Minis in madcap metropolitan chases.

One name that stands out for, well, failing to stand out is arguably Ferrari. For a company which places its finger on the marketing pulse with such aplomb, the Prancing Horse hasn’t often sought starring roles for its vehicles. But where the producers have got their hands on some Maranello machinery, the results have become rather iconic as our list shows.

 – Find out more about The Drive-In from Secret Cinema and Goodwood here

Magnum PI – Ferrari 308 GTS

The moustachioed Thomas Magnum, Private Investigator as played by Tom Selleck was a mainstay of my childhood TV watching. The glamorous Hawaiian setting, entertaining ensemble cast and amusingly absurd storylines were part of it but of course my attention was mainly for the red Ferrari 308 GTS Magnum would ‘borrow’ from his employer, the never seen Robin Masters. The wink to camera and fishtailing exit onto a mountain road seemed to me to be the epitome of Ferrari ownership back then.

In fact the producers had requested a Porsche 928 with an extra-large sunroof for filming purposes but Stuttgart wasn’t willing to modify its model so the targa top version of the Ferrari 308 got the nod instead. At 6’4”, Tom Selleck was a tight squeeze for the ‘baby Ferrari’; the drivers’ seat had its stuffing removed and was bolted as close to the firewall as possible but Selleck’s head is still very obviously higher than the windscreen frame. Several different cars were used in the filming and the car used evolved in line with Ferraris model progression, changing from a 1978 308 GTS to a 1980 308 GTSi and finally a 308 GTSi Quattrovalvole, all bearing the numberplate ROBIN 1.

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Miami Vice – Ferrari Daytona Spider and Ferrari Testarossa

The neon and synth drenched Miami Vice TV series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as vice detectives James ‘Sonny’ Crockett and Ricardo ‘Rico’ Tubbs and each got their own iconic set of wheels. Tubbs received a land yacht 1964 Cadillac Coupe DeVille convertible while Crockett brooded in a black 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider. Well sort of and only for the first two series.

The two Daytonas used in filming (one for stunts, the other for close ups) were actually replicas built on Corvette C3 chassis and running gear by McBurnie Coachcraft after Ferrari declined to supply real examples. However, Ferrari then pursued McBurnie Coachcraft for trademark infringement even as the show started to take off in the ratings. So, the Daytona was very symbolically retired in an explosion and replaced with two brand-new, Ferrari-supplied Testarossas painted white to stand out in the show’s many night scenes.

The Rock – Ferrari F355 Spider

Clearly Miami Vice director Michael Bay hit it off with Ferrari because when he came to direct action movie The Rock a decade later, the company was happy to provide a Ferrari F355 Spider in Giallo Modena yellow for a chase sequence. Rather improbably FBI analyst Dr. Stanley Goodspeed played by Nicholas Cage uses it to chase superannuated British spy John Mason (Sean Connery) driving a Humvee.

The chase takes place through the hilly streets of San Francisco and as many internet commentators have pointed out, Goodspeed does set off in pursuit from third gear. The Ferrari comes to a messy end at the hands of a San Franciscan trolley bus. Well, a Pontiac Fiero-based replica did at any rate. The real thing was returned to Ferrari intact but apparently in ‘well used’ condition.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Ferrari 250GT California

Even though I have probably seen it happen a dozen times the – Spoiler Alert – plunge taken by the Ferrari 250 GT California in one of the greatest movies ever made still makes me wince. And I know that, like the Miami Vice Daytona, it was a carefully crafted replica. With only 56 of the real things made, director John Hughes wasn’t going to subject one to the rigours of filming which included a flying leap soundtracked by the Star Wars theme.

The GT Spyder California was sourced from Modena Design and Development and had a tube frame chassis designed by Bob Webb, the race engineer behind the Zerex Special driven by Roger Penske and Bruce McLaren. Powered by a 5.0-litre Ford Windsor V8, the car was no slouch and could probably have out driven and possibly outhandled the real thing, despite its 3.0-litre V12. Modena Design and Development, founded by Neil Glassmoyer and Mark Goyette, also fell fowl of Ferrari’s lawyers after building the three movie cars – in an astonishing four weeks – and were out of the replica business.

Scent of a Woman – Ferrari Mondial t Cabriolet

Much as I love the entries in this list, I’ll admit they aren’t exactly Oscar material, except for this one which netted Al Pacino the Best Actor statue for his portrayal of blind army veteran Frank Slade. The story follows Slade on a trip to New York, watched over by student Charlie Simms played by Chris O’Donnell. Slade is set on one last weekend of hedonism before committing suicide and one of his intended last acts is an unlikely test drive.

Slade first cajoles and then eventually bribes a clueless Ferrari salesman into letting the two of them take a Mondial t Cabriolet for a test drive through a mysteriously empty Manhattan. Not only does Slade hide his blindness from the salesman, he repeats the trick with a traffic cop who pulls him over after one too many powerslides. Well, he is an Oscar winner.  

The Gumball Rally – Ferrari Daytona Spider

Finally a real V12 Ferrari being driven as it was intended – across continents at high speed. The final of three films based on the real Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy, The Gumball Rally was one of those oh-so ‘70s screwball comedy with a giant ensemble cast on a madcap mission. The real race was a completely illegal and very irresponsible time trial from New York to Los Angeles on public roads.

A pretty forgettable film but for the rivalry between a 1971 Ferrari Daytona Spider and a 1966 Ford Shelby Cobra 427. And these were not prop cars but the real things, and the driving was done by the actors themselves. Which means that for a pretty silly film, the driving sequences are surprisingly engaging. Of the two Daytonas used in the film, one was wrecked but rebuilt and turned up again in A star is Born when it was wrecked again before being rebodied as a NART Spyder. The second was owned by Mel Blanc aka the ‘Man of a Thousand Voices’ who voiced Bugs Bunny among many others.

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