- The Ferrari 1957 “Pontoon Fender” Testa Rossa and the 1962 250 GTO, both created by Scaglietti, are widely regarded as two of the most beautiful body designs ever created
- In 1957 Sergio Scaglietti’s jaw-dropping 250 TR design immediately attracted attention on the track, earning the body style the nickname of the “Pontoon Fender” Testa Rossa
- Both the Pontoon Fender Testa Rossa and the 250 GTO are cornerstone designs present in the world’s greatest automotive collections
- To fully honour the beauty of Scaglietti’s designs, Amalgam Collection have now hand-crafted aluminium replicas of the Pontoon Fender 250 TR and the 250 GTO bodies at a quarter the size of the original masterpieces
- Each replica has been rolled and hand-beaten from aluminium sheet using traditional carrozzerie skills, forming the panels by hand and then test fitting them over a ‘trellis’, exactly as the original full-size bodies were created by Carozzerie Scaglietti.
- The bright-polished bare aluminium finish and period livery options fully deliver the authentically engineered qualities of the pieces, laced with Faberge Egg glamour
- Media assets, including reel content for use on social media, can be downloaded here
Bristol UK – 7 March 2024: For centuries, Italian artisans have created many of the most evocative and beautiful objects known to man. From the Renaissance period onwards, masterpieces were designed, painted and sculpted in Italy, that to this day transcend their mere presence as objects and evoke emotions that connect to the viewer on a personal level. The vast majority of these art objects are stationary; however, during a brief period in the 1950s, beauty and function connected in select Italian sports cars, transforming them into moving art. The 250 Testa Rossa and the 250 GTO Ferraris, represent the pinnacle of this era and are true masterpieces of moving sculpture. Never before or since has such an incredible combination of beauty and power led to as much on-track success and art-inspired emotion as these two superb creations by Sergio Scaglietti. They are perhaps the greatest expressions of automotive art to come out of Maranello in this period.
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa - Bright Polished Finish
Amalgam Collection have created several perfectly detailed models of the 250 Testa Rossa at 1:8, but to fully honour the beauty of the body form they have now created a hand hammered aluminium replica of the Pontoon Fender Testa Rossa body at a quarter the size of the original masterpiece. Each replica has been rolled and beaten from aluminium sheet using traditional carrosserie skills, forming the panels by hand and then test fitting them over a ‘trellis’, exactly as the original full-size bodies were created by Carozzerie Scaglietti in 1957.
The trellis over which the body is shaped, has been machined using extremely accurate data from a digital scan of a significant original Pontoon Fender 250 Testa Rossa. The investment in skilled man hours is significant, and so each piece will be made to order.
The body is shown here mounted on a walnut wood frame, but other mounts can be designed and supplied to order by the craftspeople at Amalgam. Wall mounting the piece would make a stunning display. This Ferrari Pontoon Fender 250 Testa Rossa body replica is the second in a series of iconic Ferraris Amalgam will produce. Next in line is the 265 GTB with the 275 GTB/4 scheduled to follow in 2025 and 2026.
Ferrari 250 GTO Body Replica - Perfectly painted in Rosso Corsa
Sandy Copeman the founder of Amalgam Collection said ‘Since modelling Ralph Lauren’s Ferrari 250 GTO back in 2009, as each year goes by, we’ve fallen ever more in love with the perfect form and beauty of the body of this most important Ferrari icon. The form of the 250 GTO represents, more than any other, the quintessence of the Ferrari brand in the collective imagination. The longer you look and the deeper you go into every detail, the more perfect is the outcome of the creative work by Bizzarini, Forghieri and probably most importantly regarding the body, the finalisation of the design by Scaglietti’.
He continued: ‘We have created several perfectly detailed models of the car at 1:8, but to fully honour the beauty of the body form, we have now created a hand hammered aluminium replica of the 250 GTO body at a quarter the size of the original. Each piece has been created from aluminium sheet using traditional panel-beating methodology, forming the panels over a buck, exactly as the original full-size bodies were created by Carozzerie Scaglietti in the early 1960s’.
The buck over which the body is formed, has been machined using extremely accurate data from digital scans of several significant 250 GTOs that Amalgam have modelled over the years. The investment in skilled man hours is significant, and so each piece will be made to order.
Ferrari 250 GTO Body - Original 1962/63 Liveries made to order
In addition to the Rosso Corsa finish, Amalgam offer Ferrari 250 GTO aficionados and collectors, the opportunity to commission a race-liveried version of this superb 1:4 scale body sculpture.
Amalgam has previously created a series of 1:8 scale models of the 250 GTO in historic race liveries. 16 liveries were researched and developed, so that they have in hand the precise colours and design details. 1:4 scale sculptures decorated with these 16 liveries are available to order, each in a small Limited Edition of just 10 pieces.
Sandy Copeman, Founder of Amalgam Collection, commented: “Back in 2009 I had the opportunity to get up very close and personal and take a deep dive into the sculpture and the details of Ralph Lauren’s fine examples of the Ferrari 250 TR and the 250 GTO. I’ve got to know the extraordinary beauty of these pieces of fine automotive art on numerous occasions over the intervening 15 years, taking every opportunity to experience the incredible beauty of Sergio Scaglietti’s creations. It’s a real privilege for us to replicate his work at a quarter the size of the originals. Our replicas have been created by equally passionate craftsmen, and I believe we have done full and authentic justice to the great man’s sculptures in metal.”
The Ferrari "Pontoon Fender" 250 Testa Rossa Hand-formed and Polished Aluminium Body Replica at 1:4 scale and the Ferrari 250 GTO Red Painted Finish, and Bespoke Livery Aluminium Body Replica is available from www.amalgamcollection.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------
High resolution images and video can be found here >
An embeddable YouTube video for the Ferrari 250 TR Aluminium Body Replica in the Workshop can be found, here
EDITORS' NOTES:
MEDIA CONTACTS
PR & Media Enquiries: tom.gibsoncommunications@gmail.com, T: (201) 476-0322, Mobile: (201) 264-3646
PR & Media Enquiries: pressandmedia@amalgam.com
Director of Brand and Business Development: Sandy Copeman sandy.copeman@amalgam.com
Business and Sales Enquiries: enquiries@amalgam.com
About Amalgam Collection:
Amalgam’s team of crafts-people are recognised worldwide as makers of the finest hand-made large-scale models. Their work is unique in its attention to detail, with a focus on creating models that truly capture the style and spirit of each car. They have dedicated all their skill and passion to achieving a level of excellence that raises the impact and value of each finished piece far above anything previously created.
For cars they have already modelled at 1:8 in a limited edition, the team at Amalgam offers a tailormade service, customising a model to perfectly match the specification of an owner’s real car. For owners of unique very high value cars, Amalgam Collection offers even bigger 1:5 or 1:4 ‘one-off’ model builds from their UK workshops in Bristol, England. The team will digitally scan the car wherever it is in the world and take up to a thousand pictures of every detail, allowing them to perfectly and accurately replicate everything at scale. Given the significant number of hours required to develop a unique model, the costs are high, so the model is built at a very large scale to maximise the impact and detail, and to deliver the ultimate finished piece.
Amalgam Collection’s design, management and development heart is in England, with extraordinarily skilled and dedicated teams producing the bigger editions in Hungary and China. They are a multinational, multicultural team of craftsmen and women, dedicated to creating the world’s most precise, beautiful and exclusive models. Inspired by the F1 teams and iconic luxury car marques of England and Italy that they serve and partner with, they take huge pride in their mission to perfectly capture the designs, and honour the designers, drivers and creators of the automotive art they love.
HOW AMALGAM MODELS ARE CREATED
- The patterns are created using original CAD from the manufacturer, or extraordinarily accurate digital scans and hundreds of photographs of an original classic car.
- The patterns are used to create silicon rubber moulds that capture every detail.
- Prototyping resin is used to cast the parts from the silicon moulds. Around 20 to 30 parts can be cast from each mould and then a new one must be made.
- Each model is built from thousands of parts: castings, photo-etchings and CNC machined metal components.
- Genuine car paints and manufacturer or archive colour references are used to spray the bodywork.
- It takes between 2,500 and 4,500 hours to develop the tooling for each model.
- It takes between 250 and 450 hours to cast, fit, fettle, paint and build each model.
Every Amalgam Fine Model Car is made entirely by hand from thousands of parts. Detailed original CAD data is supplied by the car's manufacturer or the race team of the car to be modelled. The process of developing each model and creating the master patterns takes between 2,500 and 4,500 hours of skilled work depending on the complexity of the car, with classic cars taking the longest.
In the case of the classic cars an extremely accurate digital scan is made of the car, and hundreds of photographs of all the details of a carefully selected original car are taken, to ensure complete accuracy and adherence to the authentic finishes and materials. Many parts of the model are machined from metal with the major components hand cast from prototyping resin. Each model is individually assembled by a small team of highly skilled model-makers. In total the time taken to machine, cast, hand fettle, paint, polish and assemble each model is between 250 and 450 hours of highly skilled work depending on the complexity of the car.
The finished model is a very precise scale replica of the original car with every detail perfectly and authentically represented at an 8th of the original size. This is modelling elevated to such a high level that it becomes an art form.
Since 1995 Amalgam have been admired and hugely respected by leading designers and engineers in the European automotive industry, as well as F1 designers, drivers and team principals. Amalgam's models appear on the desks of CEOs and presidents of the world's most important car companies. Due to the extreme accuracy and authenticity of Amalgam's creations, made in small limited editions, they are also much sought after by devoted collectors of fine handmade objects across Europe and in the USA.
SCALE GUIDE
