Beautiful traditional Japanese-inspired details
Ferrari is releasing a unique Ferrari Roma model, made by its bespoke Tailor Made department, that will elevat the exisiting Roma to another level. The supercar features beautiful traditional Japanese-inspired details, but still keeps the clean, sophisticated elegance of the original car.
The Ferrari Tailor Made program is an exclusive opportunity for those owners who want to customize every element of their Ferrari to create a vehicle that truly reflects their personality and taste. Owners who participate in the Tailor Made program are guided by a team of experts, led by a personal designer, who interprets their desires while upholding the aesthetic standards of the Ferrari brand.
This particular supercar’s story began when Evan Orensten and Josh Rubin, the founders of the award-winning independent US publication dedicated to design, culture and technology COOL HUNTING, were offered, and accepted, the opportunity of customising a Ferrari Roma, to explore how far Ferrari’s bespoke personalisation programme could go and really push the boundaries.
They met with Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s highly esteemed Chief Design Officer, in the luxurious Ferrari Tailor Made showroom in New York City. They had just returned from research trips in Japan, where they studied the country’s traditional crafts and methods. They wanted to bring some of these ideas and materials to the Tailor Made journey as envisioned by COOL HUNTING.
Flavio Manzoni and his team were inspired by the parallels between Italian and Japanese culture and design philosophy. These included a single-minded devotion to quality, an emotional involvement with the owner, and exquisite skills in craftsmanship that have been passed down from generation to generation. The idea to create a Ferrari using some of the unique materials developed from traditional Japanese techniques, while employing Ferrari’s customary innovation to modify them to accommodate the requirements of durability and functionality that a modern high-performance car demands, was formed.
Traditional Japanese indigo dyes inspired the Ferrari Roma’s colour scheme, particularly the vivid blue exterior paint which was specially developed for this car and named Indigo Metal. The Ferrari Roma’s shape is perfectly enhanced by this vivid color- light appears to flow and reflect off of its bodywork, accentuating its lines and curves through highlights and shade. Indigo is a blue color that is derived from the leaves of the indica plant. The color has been used in Japanese design culture for centuries, and the traditional dye is produced naturally. So much so that COOL HUNTING made the trip to Toyama to learn more about how indigo dye is made.
They learned that the dye comes from a green plant. After it’s harvested and fermented, it becomes sukumo, traditional dried Japanese indigo. To create authentic Hon-Ai indigo dye, sukumo is mixed with lye, sake, and limestone powder, because it has antimicrobial properties, it was traditionally used for linens, bedding, and clothing.
The vehicle’s exterior and interior color scheme is tied together with indigo. This shade is also used for the seat trim inserts and carpets.
Only just recently, an innovative solution was found to make Sakiori a viable material again. Two vintage kimonos from Amami Oshima, an island in Japan, were used—one that was approximately 75 years old and one that was approximately 45 years old. They were dyed in indigo and the island’s Amami Oshima Tsumugi mud-based dye. Instead of weaving the kimono strands with cotton or silk, they were woven with high-tensile nylon. This made the new textile more durable. The new textile was created in the same place the original materials came from by Hajime Shoji.
The indigo theme continues inside the car with the Ferrari Roma’s headlining. It’s a beautiful, detailed piece experienced by those in the car. It’s made with two indigo-dyed hides from Asai Roektsu in Kyoto. One hide is a solid color that matches the car. The other hide is hand-painted using the Roketsu method. This method is used to form intricate repeated patterns around a single color. It dates back to the 8th century. It was commonly used to decorate the silk or cotton of kimonos and obis.
After the hides were dyed, they were sent to Italy. There, they were cut into strips and hand-woven by Italian artisans in a process called intreccio. This created an elegant, one-of-a-kind work of art.
The Ferrari Roma’s interior door handles also take their inspiration from Japan – they are enclosed in tightly hand-woven strips of black leather in an homage to tsukami, the ancient art of wrapping the grips of Katana swords.
The COOL HUNTING team were inspired by a visit to Kaikado. Kaikado is a Kyoto-based family business known for its iconic copper tea canisters. The canisters are so well-made that they form a vacuum seal. Also, the copper gets a natural patina with use. Inspired by this, there is copper plating on the Ferrari Roma’s gear shift gate surround and levers. The outline of the dual cockpits, the wheel rims and the kamon are also made in this colour.
The unique crest on the car’s dedication plate is a custom-made “kamon.” Kamon is a symbol passed down from generation to generation in Japan. This one was designed by Kyogen. It represents a wheel from an ox-drawn carriage. The numeric theme is continued in the eight wave crests that encircle the wheel.
The Ferrari Roma is a beautiful example of what you can get through the Ferrari Tailor Made programme. It has refined proportions, timeless design, and great performance and handling. Not only is it an icon of Italian design, but it also represents the pinnacle of performance in this category, that’s thanks to its 620-cv turbo-charged V8 from the family of engines. In fact this engine won the overall International Engine of the Year award four years in a row.