This Ferrari Breadvan Pays Homage To A 1960s Racing Icon

What you're staring at is a one-off homage to Ferrari's 250 GT SWB Breadvan racecar that first appeared at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans. The vintage-inspired bodywork is the brainchild of Dutch coachbuilder Niels van Roij Design and is commissioned by an anonymous client.

"We see it as a great privilege that we can honor the Breadvan through this Hommage commission," said Van Roij. "It is a complex task to translate the essence of the legendry '62 car into a contemporary design. We intend to be inspired by the old car, but will ensure we are not limited by it in our creativity."

This modern Ferrari Breadvan started life as a Ferrari 550 Maranello. After many sketches and building a full-size clay model, the Breadvan Hommage gains a new front bumper, a domed hood, and fresh air vents. The body panels were hand-beaten to perfection by coachbuilder Bas van Roomen, and only the windshield was carried over from the donor vehicle.

It's a different story in the rear. The roofline stretches flat towards the back, where the line breaks into a nearly 90-degree angle to form the silhouette of a bread van. Like the vintage model, Niels van Roij saw it proper to fit four round taillights, a glass rear window, and lengthy quad exhaust tips as the original.

Of course, the retro theme is applied to the cabin with hand-beaten aluminum trim pieces, quilted black leather trim, and milled aluminum switchgear. Meanwhile, carbon-fiber sport seats are standard, and the groovy blue upholstery adds a nice vintage flair.

Otherwise, the mechanical bits and pieces were untouched save for a new handmade exhaust system, bespoke Koni shock absorbers, and Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+ tires. Motivating this modern Ferrari Breadvan is a naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter V8 engine producing 478 horsepower and 419 pound-feet of torque with a six-speed gated manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive.

Since the Ferrari Breadvan Hommage is a one-off, you won't expect to see it outside a swanky coffee shop or restaurant anytime soon, unless you're lucky. We've seen a lot of one-off Ferraris before, but the Breadvan is definitely one of the most fascinating by far.