Pininfarina is probably the most famous design house in the automotive world. For many years, it was in charge of designing the majestic cars of Ferrari and indeed it still plays a role with them and has even branched out into creating its own supercar. Over the years, the design house has created some amazing machines, but one of the more unusual and perhaps less well-known is that of the Ferrari P4/5 By Pininfarina. This is a very exclusive, one-off version of effectively the Ferrari Enzo, commissioned by James Glickenhaus.

It all came about when Pininfarina approached the American film director as to whether he wanted to create something unique, a one-off special. Glickenhaus, being a car nut and of course now with his own Le Mans Hypercar team, said yes and what we got was an extraordinary car that Ferrari didn’t know of until it was actually being built. It even spawned a racing version of the car that was equally as impressive to look at. As one-off cars go, the Ferrari P4/5, or Glickenhaus P4/5 as it is sometimes referred to, has to be one of the most impressive there is.

The Backstory And Development Of The Ferrari P4/5 By Pininfarina

Ferrari P4/5 Glickenahus Supercar
via Supercars

The P4/5 has often been called the ultimate Enzo, and there is good reason for it. Pininfarina and Glickenhaus wanted to make sure that the car was road legal. So what the Italian design house did was get hold of the last Ferrari Enzo that had been built and was unregistered, but without the body, and thus they built their own body onto the Enzo chassis. Even the interior was completely new. When it came to the powertrain, the P4/5 would also use the Tipo F140 B 6.0-liter V12 that had become so famous inside the Enzo.

Ferrari P4/5 By Pininfarina Front Quarter View
via Car Pixel

Creating a whole new chassis and making it road legal would have taken a long time, so starting out with one of the finest supercars currently available was definitely a smart director for both Glickenhaus and Pininfarina go in. All in, the car would cost around $4 million to make and carried an absolutely huge price tag. Even the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN for short, is the same, unchanged number that the car had in its basic Enzo form. The car first appeared in public at the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August, and soon earned the nickname “The Beast of Turin”.

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A Stunning Redesign

Ferrari P4/5 And P4/5 Competizione Together
via Glickenhaus

The design of the car is unlike any other Ferrari. Made entirely of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, the car has been crafted into a similar shape to the Ferrari 330 P4 prototype racer of the 1960s. This was done at the request of Glickenhaus, who wanted whatever car he got to resemble that remarkable Ferrari prototype. This effectively, as it has been called, made the car a “rolling piece of Ferrari-racing-DNA”. Other Ferrari’s were used to inspire the design, such as the Ferrari 512S which inspired the design of the rear window. The Ferrari 330 P3 gave inspiration to the side vents, with the nose being similar to that on the Ferrari 333 SP.

Ferrari P4/5 Rear View
via Pininfarina

The P4/5 even has butterfly doors, which were inspired by those of the McLaren F1. The interior meanwhile was designed by Glickenhaus himself. The new interior actually improves upon some features of the Enzo, such as the air conditioning whilst also featuring a high-strength alloy roll bar that was designed to allow for better visibility out of the car. The seats themselves are actually molded to the shape of Glickenhaus and his son’s bodies for maximum comfort. It truly is a remarkable piece of engineering.

A Secret From Ferrari

Ferrari P4/5 With Glickenhaus P4/5 Competizione
via Road And Track

Ferrari initially had no idea that the car was being built, however, they requested that after seeing the car, it be officially badged as a Ferrari. Glickenhaus and Pininfarina agreed, hence the full name of the car, the Ferrari P4/5 By Pininfarina. Glickenhaus then created a racing version of the P4/5 that would race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2011. This would be badged a Glickenhaus, as Ferrari didn’t want anything to do with the project. This time based upon an F430 Scuderia, it won its class in the race in 2012 and finished the race 12th overall.

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A Truly Special One-Off Machine

p4-5-pininfarina
via Ferrari Motor Car Sales

One-off cars may well one day become a thing of the past, as we move into a more sustainable way of living and getting around. It might one day simply be too costly and damaging to the environment to create cars like this, not least because the P4/5 wouldn’t have been very exciting if it had an electric drivetrain. Ranking this among one-off cars is hard, but with the underpinnings of one of Ferrari’s greatest road cars ever made, it has to be high up the leader board. It is a truly special machine, and one for which we are thankful was brought into this world.

Sources: Pininfarina, Supercars, Road And Track, Glickenhaus, Car Pixel