Friday 4 January 2019

Exhibition of Ferrari vehicles - H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco : Ferrari 365GT4 2+2 one-off - Bertrand Lavier

I noticed these photos posted by "les100gt" on Instagram. There was no further supporting information but I figured this might be currently at display at the Prince Monaco automusem. I knew there is currently a special Ferrari expo. When checking I noticed the floor tiles and the pilons used are identical. So yes:

https://www.visitmonaco.com/en/place/museums/331/cars-collection-of-hsh-the-prince-of-monaco

Unfortunately no further supporting information about this specific car. Looks like some kind of demo car which has been used in the Pininfarin windtunnel. Apparently it's a one-off. Would love to receive more information about this car. Anyone?

Update 7-1-2019: Upon further checking I found out it's art work by Bertrand Lavier. Yes, his name was clearly mentioned but the relation was not clear to me. Turns out he has done other artwork on Ferrari's. When I saw the Dino 308GT4 I recalled it instantly:

https://www.aol.co.uk/2013/11/04/smashed-ferrari-dino-sells-for-156-000/

It's not the only one he did. Apparently he had also a 308 GTB painted, similar as done on this 365GT4 2+2. It's just a very thick layer of paint, see example:

http://www.carfreax.com/old_images/6a00d834544c6d69e2017c34c0bf1b970b-popup.html

I found this French article with more details about him and his artwork, apparently he was a 400i Automatic owner once himself.

https://www.theferrarista.com/forum-ferrari/topic/3617-bertrand-lavier-objets-de-scandale/

In fact it was a small article by the Ferrari 400 Club in 2009. Find it hereby translated:

Bertrand Lavier: "My 400 is three-quarter back that I found the most beautiful! "
His passion for the Italian automobile is not new, and some of his works, exhibited in Beaubourg, Milan or New York, bear witness to the fact that it is Alfa, like this rugged Giulietta, presented as a work of art. art ...
... or Ferrari like this 308 magazine in the manner of a painter, leaving the trace of his thick brush on his subject!
It must be said that Bertrand Lavier is close to Jean Todt, a great collector of contemporary art. But his story with Ferrari is not just an artist's relationship with his model. The Ferrari, he also drives them and he has lived a long passion for a 400i automatic blue navy he has resold today.
How did you know this model?
The pencil stroke of this car, it was obvious when I saw it in the books on Ferrari and I could have it at a time when the Ferrari had fallen in the rating in the 80s, they were not worth more a lot, especially this model and it was good because it was the one I wanted.
Was it your first Ferrari?
No, the first was a 250 GTE I had in 79.
Lavier-250gt.jpg
And the desire to buy a 2 + 2, it was for practical questions, to transport children, friends?
No, not at all, it was only the line. The 250 GTE I liked because when I was a teenager it was the car of Johnny, Richard Antony, Claude François, she was quite cult for that, and I think the 2+ 2 were cheaper than the others but it did not guide my choice at the time. But the 400 was a touring car with a sharp engine, very close to the Daytona, in an evening dress!
Lavier-412.jpg
The artist you are is seduced by the work of another artist, Pininfarina! If we took a close-up of a part of the car, like a bit of what you do in your work as an artist, which part of the 400 would you stop?
It's definitely the rear three-quarter view! What is very beautiful is when we see the line of exhausts that is offset from the box with 4 pots that stand out. When they made the 412, the exhaust line was integrated into the rear bumper, which is less beautiful. The front face is a bit rutted, it's not what I prefer!
Lavier-400.jpg
Which model did you buy? Meca box or auto box?
Box car, which did not arrange me too much. It is nice to be convinced that all this is great, but a good old gearbox, I would have liked more. But it's this one, a Havana navy blue 400i that I found at a friend's house who sells cars in the Midi, in Vence. And I kept it for a long time, about ten years.
Do you remember a special trip, an extraordinary journey with this car?
It's a big road! I had brought three friends, including Christian Boltanski (great French contemporary artist, Ed) and we were going to the opening at the Château d'Oiron, an art center next to Loudun. This is a time when there were not too many radars and we went very quickly on departmental roads ... and I think they still remember!
Another great pleasure, but it is with all Ferrari, it is to have the 2 windows open and to make the tunnels or to skirt rocks! I do not resist this sound. And besides, because I'm not always in a Ferrari, when I see one from time to time, I approach with my car, I lower my window and I listen. In general, the driver knows that I do it and it creates a complicity, it's quite funny!
Let's talk about mechanics. Did you have any particular problems with your 400?
No, hardly any worries. Cooling problems with water hoses. A tightness of the gearbox, but otherwise no worries, just regular maintenance.
Why did you sell it?
It is, in the chances of life, that I am very friendly with Jean Todt, so there I could not dream better to have a Ferrari. So I could have after a 360 Modena. It's very well drawn too, the pencil is very pure. But that's another thing, it's no longer a Grand Touring car, it's a circuit car.
My 400 was a pleasure for a friend in Burgundy who always has what allows me to see it from time to time, and so I sold him, especially since I do not have the soul of a collector. If I had two, which one do I take to go for a ride? And there I have no worries, I know I take this one!
But I think the 400 has hit the bottom of the pool, in terms of rating and it interests more and more people!
Interview conducted in May 2009 by Antoine Cormery.





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