Car mods may be all the rage, but it seems Ferrari has had enough of its customers' poor tastes. The luxury carmaker is already known for being protective of its image, which includes one of the best car logos. But it's reportedly now considering a hault on personalised colour options amid fears that they're making the brand look trashy.
Ferrari has seen a surge in personalisation requests as customers seek unique-looking vehicles, and pnly around 40 per cent of its cars are now shipped in the signature rosso corsa shade. But it seems the brand may have had enough of cowing to customers' demands.
In some countries, Ferrari dealers have a set menu of colours, but in others, customers can choose à la carte. According to the Telegraph, Ferrari chief executive Benedetto Vigna Ferrari is thinking of simplifying the brand's colour catalogue as a "precautionary measure" to protect the brand.
He said: “We have been thinking internally maybe to pre-define the combinations. We have to pay attention because we have to defend the values and the identity of the brand. We will not make a strange car, for sure.”
Vigna said dealers try to talk customers out of choosing flashy designs, but some are hard to convince. He insists it's not only about respecting the brand's image and heritage, but also protecting the value of cars for later trade as “there are some combinations that are not liked or loved by the second potential buyer."
Ferrari has reportedly protested against customers' own mods in the past. The DJ Deadmau5 claimed to have received a cease-and-desist letter from the car brand in 2014 after he put a Nyan Cat wrap on a Ferrari 458 Italia and called it a 'Purrari' (see the Instagram post above). Ferrari's biggest gripe in that case was modification of its name and logo. But there's also rumoured to be a Ferrari blacklist of customers non grata.
Some will say that Ferrari is being overly precious and looking down its nose at customers like a a Michelin-starred chef asked to prepare a well-done steak. But I can see its point. There's a been a surge in demand for more personalised luxury goods in the last decade, and an accompanying trend for weird brand collaborations that can dilute a brand.
Ferrari goes to great lengths to main particular luxury position. It chooses who is worthy of its cars because it wants to be associated with exclusivity and performance rather than posing or gaudy bling. Curiously a Ferrari collaboration with Fortnite was deemed appropriate, but even in video games, it doesn't let its cars appear in anything but their official colours – the colours that brand's skilled designers decide are best.
For more news on car branding, see the new Mazda logo and the best car logo redesigns.
What is the Ferrari blacklist?
The Ferrari blacklist is a rumoured list of people that the Italian carmaker refuses to sell to. It's believed to be Ferrari's way of exercising some control over their product.
Once someone's bought a Ferrari, it's theirs to treat as they please within the realms of what is road-legal, but Ferrari has been known to request or suggest that people remove wraps and it's widely believe that it demands first refusal if a customer puts a car up for sale. Failure to respect such request, could mean customers won't be able to buy again. Ferrari has never confirmed that the blacklist exists.
Who is on the Ferrari blacklist?
Since there's no official confirmation that the blacklist even exists, there's no way to know for sure who may be on it. There have been lots of rumours over the years, mainly involving celebrities, with Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Curtis James Jackson AKA 50 Cent and Deadmau5 are said to be on it. Nicolas Cage and Floyd Mayweather Jr are also believed to be on the list for selling vehicles without the company's blessing.
