I realize that saying something from Ferrari is overpriced is hardly a bold stance, but I recently encountered an example that I just couldn’t roll my eyes at and ignore. I mean, look, I understand that I’m about as likely to become part of Ferrari’s target market as I am to suddenly gain the ability to will delicious hoagies into being, hovering and glowing three feet above the floor, so it’s certainly possible I’m simply just too cretinous to appreciate what Ferrari is offering here. And what they’re offering is a Ferrari badge, hand-painted on your Ferrari’s fender. For between $15,000 to $17,000.
Ferrari posted an Instagram video about the process of painting the Ferrari badge on a fender a bit under a year ago, but it’s been popping up online recently, for reasons that are only clear to The Algorithm and pure chance. The video was made as a way for Ferrari to demonstrate why this hand-painted logo is such a worthy addition to your next Ferrari purchase.
Note the caption to the Instagram post:
“The making of an artwork. This is the meticulous craftsmanship that goes into every painted Scuderia Ferrari shield.”
View this post on Instagram
In case you can’t view an embedded Instagram post or in case Ferrari gets their red, silken panties in a taut knotty wad, here’s the same video republished on YouTube, titled “Exactly why Ferrari’s hand-painted fender shield costs $15,000″:
Do I have thoughts? I have thoughts.
First of all, that’s not hand-painted. It’s hand-stenciled, and there is a difference. I’m not saying the process Ferrari is doing doesn’t take skill or effort or time, because it absolutely does. But it’s very different than a hand-painted logo, which would have the variations and relative imprecision and variability of human-controlled brushtrokes in a way that stencils simply cannot.
The process Ferrari is using is incredibly precise and careful, with jigs used to make sure the alignment is perfect, and using surgical tools to be sure every little bit of that stencil is cut out just right.
The result is something so perfect and precise it may as well have been a decal, because that’s what it looks like. Really, the process isn’t all that different than if it was screenprinted, as it’s using color separations and mechanical ways to insure proper registration and all that sort of thing. It’s hand-painted in the sense that there’s paint involved, and hands, but that’s about it.
If you read Walter Benjamin’s famous essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Benjamin discusses how a reproduction of a work of art is inherently different – though not necessarily lesser – than a reproduction of such work. He notes that a unique work of art has an ‘aura’ about it that is inherent to it being unique in a number of ways. He goes into a bit more detail here:
Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence.
It’s not even the stenciling that I have an issue with here; artists have used stencils extensively over history to make art – the now less-anonymous Banksy may be the most famous current practitioner. And artists like Andy Warhol loved to use techniques like silkscreening for their work. But in those cases, other elements conspired to make them still unique and have what Benjamin calls ‘aura;’ the location of where the work was stenciled, the way the silkscreens were applied and used, the individuality of how they were used each time. The goals for using stencils or screens were not a perfect reproduction of anything, but just tools to make interesting work.
Ferrari’s goals in the use of stencils for this fender badge is to make as precise and perfect a reproduction of their intellectual property as possible, the same on every car they build. This is the same job a sticker does, just quicker and cheaper.
Here’s how Ferrari describes the process on their page about this $15,000 option:
“The simplest solution would have been to use stickers, covered by a layer of clear coat to keep them in place and protect them from the elements,” remarks Stefano Del Puglia, Head of Painting at Maranello. “But Ferrari is not known for seeking the easy way out.” Indeed, the entire painting process takes up to eight hours per fender shield. In other words, those little scudetti add up to 16 hours of manual work per car. Talk about passion.
Okay, so it takes 16 hours to make something that looks like high-quality sticker with clear coat on it. I guess knowing that it’s not a sticker may mean something to the owner, but no one else is going to know or care. I mean, look at the final product; it’s nice and all that, but does it feel hand-painted? Does it feel unique or special, can you feel the hand of the artist, is it personalized in any way, or may it just as well be a decal?
I guess that’s for you to decide, but I’m not sold on this at all. This seems like a genuinely inane way to drop $15,000. I bet you could find a really top-notch decal and have it professionally installed for, what, let’s be generous and say $1,000. Hell, make it $2,000! That’s still $13,000 cheaper than the Ferrari option, and you could use the money you saved to buy yourself another fun red sports car, like this one:
And you’d still have a couple grand left over! I bet you could have a blast in that little Datsun 1600, and I think it probably will attract as much attention and more smiles than a brand-new Ferrari.
So, if any of you out there are in the process of buying a new Ferrari and are considering getting one of these hand “painted” badges on your car, I’d implore you to consider other options. What about hiring a talented lowrider artist to paint you a custom version of the prancing horse? I bet they could come up with something incredible for a whole lot less than 15 large, though then you may have to deal with the wrath of Ferrari, who famously gets really pissy if owners modify their cars. But that itself may be reason enough to try it, right?
Or, you could buy something else, and do whatever the hell you want with it.
Top graphic image: Ferrari
OK can I add a logical argument to the price – what are the logistics of doing this on the production line? Guessing the car needs to be pulled off, taken to a special area while this is done, time for drying, quality control, etc. If they have limited space and this is competing against other things they could do with the same space (like something even more crazy and expensive), you really might be paying for a very expensive parking spot on top of the true cost to do the work itself. And yes, it is priced that way because they can, so don’t remind me of that!
We live in a world where Balenciaga is selling a plastic bag for over $1,000. This doesn’t surprise me one bit to be honest. Collectively we’ve all gone off the rails.
I totally agree that “Ferrari Is Delusional If They Think This ‘Hand Painted’ Badge Is Worth $15,000”. But they are right on the money if they think their customer base will fall heads over heels for this.
Are they limiting it to three pieces, signed by the artist? If so, it could be viewed at possess that value by the art community.