Ferrari Al Cinema

Urdorf, August 31st. When thinking of James Bond and cars, the Aston Martin DB5 is usually one of the first to be mentioned. Indeed, the silver-grey Aston Martin DB5, first seen in Goldfinger, is Mr Bond’s most famous car. 

The world of cinema has the power to turn a regular story into something iconic and unforgettable. It also has the power to immortalise a certain moment for future generations, including its fashion, hairstyles and the cars driven at the time. The Ferraris in this article are definite scene-stealers, beautiful machines which were allowed enough screen time to become instantly memorable.  

Truth be told, Ferraris are always bound to attract attention, regardless of where they are or who is driving them. The Ferraris listed below, though, were given icon status by being included in the storytelling process. 

This article first features two TV series, followed by a number of movies, their order picked at random.

Magnum (1980-1988)

Thomas Magnum, the moustachioed Private Investigator played by Tom Selleck, was one of my heroes during my younger years watching TV. The glamorous Hawaiian setting, entertaining cast and amusingly absurd storylines were of course part of it, but really, I only had attention for the red Ferrari 308 GTS that Magnum would ‘borrow’ from his employer, the never-seen Robin Masters. Back then, his wink to the camera and fishtailing exit onto a mountain road seemed to me the epitome of Ferrari ownership.

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

Miami Vice (1984-1998)

The two Daytonas used while filming this show (one for stunts, the other for close-ups) were actually replicas built on a Corvette C3 chassis and with running gear by McBurnie Coachcraft, after Ferrari initially declined to supply real examples. Ferrari later pursued McBurnie Coachcraft for trademark infringement, even as the show’s ratings started to take off. Thus, 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.

Scent of a Woman (1992)

Though most of the movies mentioned in this article wouldn’t be described as Oscar material, Scent of a Woman 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 tries to cajole 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 cop who pulls him over after one too many powerslides. Scent of a Woman is an Oscar winner and also my personal favourite on this list.

The Gumball Rally (1976)

This film features a real V12 Ferrari being driven as it was intended: across continents at high speed. As the final of three films and based on the real Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy, The Gumball Rally was one of those ‘70s screwball comedies 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. This was, in my opinion, a pretty forgettable film save for the rivalry between a 1971 Ferrari Daytona Spider and a 1966 Ford Shelby Cobra 427. The first of the two Daytonas used in the film was wrecked but rebuilt and turned up again in A Star is Born. There, it was wrecked again before then being rebodied as an NART Spyder. The second Daytona was owned by Mel Blanc, aka the ‘Man of a Thousand Voices,’ who voiced Bugs Bunny and many others.

Goldeneye (1995)

My family knows that I am a keen fan of Mr Brosnan. (Unfortunately, they rarely let me pick his movies.) Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as 007 came with a superb race down a winding mountain road between his Aston Martin DB5 and a red Ferrari F355 GTS driven by Famke Jenssen, all while Bond’s paramour/psychologist, who was supposed to be evaluating him, screeched in fear and frustration in the passenger seat. The race scene employed plenty of movie magic to help Bond keep up with the Ferrari, and ended without adding to the 007 body count. It’s pure Bond action, with smart puns and now-laughable attempts that would only ever work to pick up girls if your name was Bond. James Bond.

The Rock (1996)

Clearly, Miami Vice director Michael Bay hit it off with Ferrari, because when he came to direct the 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 (Nicholas Cage,) uses it to chase superannuated British spy John Mason (Sean Connery) driving a Hummer. The chase passes through the hilly streets of San Francisco, and the Ferrari comes to a messy end at the hands of a San Francisco trolley bus. 

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Even though I’ve 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, the car was a carefully crafted replica. With only 56 of the real cars 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.

Bad Boys II (2003)

Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) was never one for subtlety, and this was also apparent in his choice of cars. Lowrey drove Porsches in the first and third of the Bad Boys movies, but in the second, he got to chase down bad guys in a Ferrari 550 Maranello. Michael Bay also directed the first two movies, and took great pleasure in putting the 550 Maranello through its paces for our viewing pleasure, only adding Hollywood trickery where the stunts would have been too dangerous to perform in real life.

Against All Odds (1984)

This is probably not a movie many remember except for those who, upon viewing it, noticed that it features what is still considered one of the best car chase scenes in the history of movie. The chase mentioned is a street race between a red Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet and a black Ferrari 308: it passes down Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard, through Bel Air and through heavy traffic with zero damage to any car. James Woods’ place at the wheel of the 308 was taken by Carey Loftin, the most prolific and acclaimed stunt driver of all times, who strove to shoot the entire scene with as little trickery as possible.

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

Life really can’t get much better than as it is for Axel Foley: he works as an undercover cop, is pretty good at his job and gets to drive a red Ferrari 328 GTS paid for with taxpayers’ money.  The movie includes some pretty embarrassing goofs, like the use of a 308 in the first part of the movie, which then mysteriously becomes a much more expensive and newer 328 before turning into a 308 again. Aside from this, however, the Ferrari gets enough time on the screen to keep any Ferraristi’s eyes peeled.

Although Daniel Craig will be replaced as Mr James Bond, we most likely won’t see a Ferrari replacing Mr Bond’s preferred car, the Aston Martin. Nevertheless, we will see many other movies in the cinema in which a Ferrari steals the attention for a couple of minutes and makes the film that much more memorable. 

Exhibition: 

FERRARI AL CINEMA FROM 04. TO 30. SEPTEMBER 2020 at B. I. COLLECTION in Urdorf / Zurich

Please visit our website www.ferrari-zurich.ch for more information, follow us on social media or contact us at +41 44 736 17 36