Gosh, remember NFTs? They were all the rage about three to four years ago, with parts of the internet declaring non-fungible tokens as the Next Big Thing in the internet universe, a la Bitcoin.
In the simplest terms, NFTs are like digital collector’s items. It’s a unique digital identifier that’s recorded on a blockchain—a type of digital recording system that sits on the internet—that assigns ownership to someone. It’s used to certify ownership or authenticity. NFTs can be stuff like music, artwork, or in-game upgrades, just to name a few examples.
While some argue there are practical uses for NFTs (event tickets, identification, certifications like degrees or qualifications, etc.), the tech never really caught on in the mainstream. The last I heard of NFTs was when Hyundai allowed one of its Santa Cruz-themed NFTs to be traded in for a real Santa Cruz.
Although the NFT world is well and truly past its peak, that’s not stopping Ferrari. Back in 2022, it signed a deal with Swiss blockchain company Velas, but never publicly launched any products. Now, in the year of our lord 2025, the company has revealed an NFT called the F76. It’s a digital asset that takes the form of a concept car, its name paying tribute to Ferrari’s first Le Mans win in 1949, 76 years ago. Here’s how the company explains it:
The F76 is not a production car, but a pioneering virtual project that combines Ferrari’s racing tradition with the innovation of generative design and digital technologies, opening a new frontier in the brand experience. Designed for clients of the exclusive Hyperclub programme, the F76 is one of the digital assets of the initiative created by the Maranello-based company to support the 499P competing at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship, allowing clients to experience this journey alongside the official team.
The Hyperclub Programme is Ferrari’s club of ultra-high-net-worth clients. Being part of this club allows you to buy an F76-themed NFT for yourself, as well as exclusive access to Ferrari’s efforts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari goes on to explain that NFTs related to the F76 were “released as exclusive drops over the three years of the Hyperclub Programme,” meaning this thing isn’t exactly new, which sort of explains why it exists at all—Ferrari privately launching an NFT in 2022 to a small group of clients seems far more plausible than launching one in 2025.
It’s a shame the F76 isn’t a real car, or even a real, physical concept, because it’s painfully cool. I love the double-blade front end and boxed fenders, plus there’s a “double fuselage” to isolate both occupants, with each getting their own steering wheel. Ferrari says the car is meant to influence future production cars, which I’m totally down for.
Unlike most dual-wheeled cars, where one person acts as the driver, Ferrari says both drivers will be able to experience how the car performs at the same time:
The interior is designed to enhance the shared driving experience: two separate cockpits, utilising drive-by-wire technology, synchronise every driving component, from the steering wheel to the pedals, allowing both occupants to experience and share sensations in real time, elevating both the emotional and technical participation in the driving experience.
How that’d work in real life, I’m not so sure. If one person hits the brake while the other is still on the throttle, who gets priority? What if I want to take that corner a little tighter than my passenger? Alas, these are mysteries we’ll never have the answer to, as the car isn’t a real, physical thing.
It’s unclear how much an F76 NFT costs, but knowing Ferrari, they probably weren’t cheap. I am curious to know whether the company had any trouble selling them to customers, considering the widespread unpopularity of NFTs. Chevrolet’s Corvette NFT famously failed to sell at auction back in 2022 when no bids were placed, even though it came with a free Z06. Knowing Ferrari, it likely angled this product as a unique opportunity for a select few customers, which is something you can only do if you have the brand cachet of Ferrari.
This NFT isn’t a one-and-done thing for the prancing horse. The company plans to lean into the tech on the more practical side of things for more secure transactions:
In partnership with Conio, an Italian fin-tech company at the forefront of Real World Asset (RWA) custody and tokenisation, Ferrari will, for the first time, harness blockchain technology to enhance the exclusive experience for members of this prestigious programme. The digital wallet developed by Conio is the key element of this innovation and will be directly integrated into the MyFerrari app. Built on Conio’s proprietary technological infrastructure, the wallet enables secure token storage through a multi-signature system and advanced cryptographic protection protocols. For Hyperclub members, this translates into the highest level of security for managing their digital assets, along with complete freedom and flexibility to interact with them in an exclusive, transparent, and EU-compliant environment, elevating the concepts of ownership and participation to new heights.
Is all of this stuff necessary? Probably not. But for those obsessed with tech, it could provide them with some peace of mind. Personally, I’ll stick to in-person signatures for my multi-million-dollar Ferrari purchases (which I make a few times a year, of course).
Top graphic image: Ferrari
That F76 looks like AI slop that I wouldn’t spend a nickel on.
“The 2026 Chevy Camero you won’t believe! The last photo will shock you! GM is back!”
“Keanu Reaves says its the most beautiful car ever made!”
“The Ferrari F76 is here to digitally haunt your nightmares!”
I paid 0 real life dollars for Ferrari’s Vision GT car in Gran Turismo, and I can also virtually drive it.
The F76 is not a production car, but a pioneering virtual project that combines Ferrari’s racing tradition with the innovation of generative design and digital technologies, opening a new frontier in the brand experience.
Generative design. They’re selling AI slop, and not only are they getting caught, they’re willingly sharing that information. I’d be embarrassed to death if someone caught me using gen-AI for anything.
Then again, I’d be embarrassed to death if someone caught me buying a new Ferrari.
Knowing Ferrari, they probably told their high-net-worth customers that, if they didn’t buy one of the NFTs, they wouldn’t get their order for Ferrari’s next REAL hypercar fulfilled.
Yes! This! Exactly! 😀
To quote Go Go:
“Italian trash”
So dumb.
I think if your going to have 2 people drive the car at the same time then you should have the left driver drive the left wheels, and the right driver driving the right wheels. Thats the only way. Plus NFTs or whatever sound fucking stupid.
And they each control their respective turn signal.
I think they should control the opposite sides, or maybe rear and front – 4 wheel steering.
Can someone explain to me like I’m six why the windshield is between the “drivers” and it’s solid hood/roof in front of them? (Granted, of course that this is purely an academic exercise. Maybe it’s just an illustration of how naive and useless “generative design” is?)
Must be part of the dual-driver experience! Left driver looks through the central windshield to see the right side of the road, and vice versa for right driver. it’s a PERFECT system!
Is it possible to have your moral compass surgically removed? If so I’d be happy to pay out of pocket to get it done as it is the only thing keeping me from getting wealthy by bilking the gullible. Maybe I should quit worrying about being able to sleep at night and and instead look forward laying awake wrestling with my decisions on top of a pile of money.
That does seem to be the secret of the ultra weathy/powerful.
Eh, in this case the only ones being bilked are those with way too much money anyways.
I’d love to talk to you about how you can create generational wealth in only 30 minutes a day by utilizing Amazon drop shipping!
If you’re a rich person hoping to be ‘invited’ to purchase the next ultra limited edition Ferrari, buying into this is a prerequisite.
It’s brilliant.
Ferrari design is a shitshow ever since they got rid of Pinin Farina like used toilet paper. The designs look like the designers were having a stroke or were on 11 miles of uncut cocaine. Either way, Lamborghini has better designs.
AH HA HA HA HA! People paid real money for a fake token attached to a 3D model of a fake car. I may be dumb, but at least I’m not filthy rich and dumb!
I laugh and the realize that in all my video games I have done similar….but the difference is that in my racing games, I can at least “use” the virtual car. So yes, I agree.
You’re paying for the experience, if cars drive differently in-game, it’s not that big of a stretch to say that each car is a different “game” that you’re acquiring.
If everything is drive by wire, there could be no priority, instead having the car blend inputs to react based on how both drivers respond. So if one accelerates, while the other brakes, you’d get partial throttle, and partial braking. Could make for an interesting tag-team sport where the two drivers being in sync can lead to better performance. Might even allow for some sort of collaboration metric, where the vehicle can report how in-tune both drivers are with each other.
Pacific Rim, but with imaginary cars instead of giant robots.
Or, as in sundry Airbuses, some spectacular crashes.
I assume that’s their inspiration.
Like dirtbike sidecar racing. Those events look insane. So does this concept.
Agreed.
I’m having trouble imagining how applying the average accel/decel request and the average steering angle request would be a good idea, or even allow safe control of a vehicle.
Imagine that you do something with the controls, and then the feedback you receive to your input thru both the virtual feedback to the wheel and pedals and by your bodily kinesthetics is not linked to what you did. In fact it is not only not linked to your action, as would be similar to a car with vague steering feel, but it responds to some foreign input over which you have no control.
I think the result wold be each driver overcompensating for the delta between their two inputs, and each skewing farther and farther apart in their inputs to try to get a desired response to their intentions. E.g. one driver always overturning to try to get the vehicle to yaw, and the other always underturning the wheel because the car constantly seems to oversteer.
Oh I’m certain it would be unlike driving any other vehicle, and incredibly difficult. Again since this is drive by wire, certain limits could be placed on how far out of limits inputs could be responded to, and with a bit of ADAS magic our NFT car could be quite the spectacle.
As mentioned above, Airbus has had some issues and that’s knowing the stakes were life and death and designing the system accordingly. There are just too many edge cases to think of them all (Aside from the brute force method of having tens of thousands of planes flying every day until you discover the 1-in-100 million situation no human could ever have thought of). Think of the pilot who placed his camera on the side table and then adjusted his seat, causing the armrest to jam the camera into the side stick and disconnect the autopilot. I know it’s a pointless thought exercise, but if they ever actually tried to make this thing, it’d kill a whole bunch of people.
I in no way intended this to be used on a public roads, which I probably didn’t say out loud; and was also completely confused by the Airbus citation. This is pure fictional sportsmanship on a closed course for public spectacle type stuff.
Understood. I was pointing out that even if you disregard all the other issues with this pretend car, I still don’t think you could get it to work. Here’s a rundown of the Airbus incident: https://livingsafelywithhumanerror.wordpress.com/2018/04/25/loss-of-control-in-flight-incident-involving-a-royal-air-force-a330/
Holy hell. Scary stuff.
NFT expert here, let me help you out.
NFT’s are nothing, they’re worth nothing, they have no value and are not able to possess value. They don’t “convey ownership”, they’d be useless for event tickets, they aren’t art. The art is just something to confuse you, and the art isn’t even art unless you’re just totally absorbed by images of computer generated chimpanzees, which you will not own.
If you bought any NFT’s, you wasted your money since you bought nothing. You gave your money away and got nothing for it. You were stupid, likely driven by greed.
Let me know if you need further clarification.
Your assessment agrees with my assessment.
I read the article twice and still have no idea what Ferrari is actually selling here.
Basically, an overpriced 3D rendering of a fake car.
I know you’re not an editor, but there’s one instance of F75 (instead of F76) and just after that Brian used “cache” but he may have meant “cachet?”
Thank you! I’m often confounded by The Autopian’s blurring of the line between “blog” and “journalism.” It’s not my call, but I would think that a folksy pass should not be given to what is purportedly becoming the preeminent site of record.
Good eye. Those issues have been fixed!
What’s really dumb is that the NFT is basically just the certificate of authenticity for the 3D render. You’re just buying the paperwork that proves you spent money on this. Which feels pretty on-brand for Ferrari buyers at this point.
I’m looking at the 3D rendering of the fake car here for free, so unless The Autopian bought one of these I’m pretty sure they’re not even selling that much.
They’re not even selling you a 3D rendering of a fake car since they’re selling it over and over again to anyone. Your NFT does not contain the data associated with the crappy AI slop rendering, it just “points” to the rendering somewhere on the internet via a URL. If the crappy rendering is deleted or taken down, your link is broken and you are owed nothing since it doesn’t belong to you.
Think Pokémon cards, remember them? Worthless with supposed rarity for certain cards. You can’t “create” rarity, although a lot of manufacturers con you into the myth that they can. Now imagine that the Pokémon card is imaginary, just a rendering. Now imagine that what you’re buying is not the imaginary card itself, which doesn’t exist, but a URL that leads you to the card on the internet and that the same URL is sold to anyone and everyone. Now imagine that the webpage that the URL leads you to is taken down and deleted and that action does not violate the terms of your transaction since the imaginary card isn’t actually yours. You bought nothing, the NFT has zero utility, you can’t even look at the rendering since it was taken down and deleted. You bought a valueless, meaningless, worthless, imaginary nothing. But you money, which is now gone, was real.
A virtual share of a digital rendering of a virtual Ferrari.
Kind of like buying a timeshare of a picture of a condo in Florida.
You’d we could make up something slightly less idiotic than this and make a pile of money, but somehow, I think we’d be wrong.
Except it’s not clear that you are even buying a share of that picture. Or a share of anything at all.
Kind of like buying a timeshare!
Bullshit. They are selling bullshit.
I’ll sell them some bullshit for a dollar less.
My BS is better. I’ll sell it for $3 more.
Mine’s rarer though. It’s so rare it doesn’t even exist! I think that’s basically checkmate, so I guess I just wait for the money to show up?
That’s the idea.
I’m sure the people who can afford these silly additions to their ‘portfolios’ will be the first ones in line to upload their consciousness to a digital Ferrari Afterlife© to be able to ‘drive’ this car (obviously dressed head to toe in a Ferrari-approved digital wardrobe).
Bon chance!
I took it to be the main driver is for the racecar driver, and the other wheel and pedal set just moves along with his motions. Like the wheel, gas pedal and brake move on their own so you can feel what the driver is doing. But not with any impact on how the car would actually be driving.
Neat concept. Good take.
That would be pretty cool. Actually, even with a home sim setup it would be cool to download a driver’s race performance and “follow along” to see how they navigated the course. I bet you’d learn a lot doing that.
If you are in a recording studio the engineer gives you an awesome fader
I will use this occasion to once again ask you all to please stop copying my NFTs.
You misunderstood, that is not what they are for.
It says NON-FUNGIBLE right in the name, so STOP FUNGING THEM!
How many of the lower tier Ferrari NFTs do I have to buy before they let me buy a F76 NFT?
If you have to ask . . .
It looks like you have to drive it like the Jaegers are piloted in Pacific Rim. The drivers must drift before they can drift.
Silly customers, I can just right-click-save-as to my desktop.
So, if I like these computer-generated pictures of a car that doesn’t, and never will, exist in reality, I can either pay them money for the NiFTy, or just download the images they’ve alresdy released for free?
Well yes, but then you’d miss out on having a copy of said images that was yours and only yours. Which is meaningful because it’s on the blockchain.
And being on the blockchain is meaningful because it enables me to passively emit 465lb of carbon dioxide a year, which adds up to 469 miles driving a Huracan.
See: it’s not just virtual.
Clearly nobody at Ferrari ever watched the Top Gear Double Decker car races. Either that or they want to see a really expensive, high speed accident play out like a slapstick silent movie.
Except after the crash, they’re the ones selling those drivers their next car.
From the POV of the buyers, who have more money than they know what to do with, and who want access to limited edition Ferrari road cars, which they may not be able to buy for any price, doing something that appears stupid to us to gain favor may be perfectly rational.
That’s an irritatingly good point!
Just like Ford’s screening process for potential GT buyers a few years back. A way outside of pure prices to match a transaction.
Yes, this is clearly a way for Ferrari to say “give us money for an F80 allocation and also hospitality access at the 24h of Le Mans and other WEC/IMSA races.”
I suspect that if you “own” an F76 you also get invited to the paddock at F1.
This has to be it since NFTs are only good for money laundering and
bribingbuying access to someone or something.Another clue we’re reaching peak stupid.
Pretty sure we passed the apex on that one. Need to figure out the cleanup now.
That might be wishful thinking.
You’re probably right. Trying to be positive.
The problem with Peak Stupid is that there might not actually be an apex…
Don’t let people fool you. There is no such thing as Peak Stupid. There is no limit for that…
Stupidity is our only inexhaustible resource and the only one we’d be best to run out of. I feel like there’s a Sphinxian riddle in there.
Never underestimate the power of an idiot
The line keeps going up – until extinction.
Maybe only a small local maxima, but we ain’t near the absolute top since humanoids tend to run roughshod through life trying to out-stupid the next one.