The Brief
Niels van Roij Design just showed us a one-off monster. The Daytona Shooting Brake Homrage.
It sits on the bones of a Ferrari 599.
The Roots
Ferrari’s front-engine V12s were practical beasts. Think of the Luce. Or the Purosangue. Until recently. But who needs practical when you can have more space?
This Dutch coachbuilder didn’t settle.
They looked back at 1972. The original Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona Shooting Brake existed then. Only one. Commissioned by Luigi Chinetti. A Le Mans winner. A man who loved custom cars.
This new build honors that. But it rides on a 599 GTB platform. Why the older car? Why not a fresh F12 or 812?
Niels van Roij doesn’t say who ordered it. Or why.
The Glass Box
Forget the old metal skin. Almost every panel on the 599 is gone. The doors stayed. Everything else did not.
The roof rises up. Then flows into the back. A massive hatch of glass opens in butterfly wings. Remote controlled.
Trunk space? Massive. Way bigger than stock.
Visibility improved thanks to all that transparent material. Even the hinges look expensive.
“Rendering the legendary ’72 shooting Brake into a contemporary piece was complex. We intended to celebrates the classic. But ensured we weren’t limited by it.”
– Niels van Roij
Face Lift
Front lights changed. Vertical strips became horizontal slats. An amber reflector nods to the original Daytona.
The Prancing Horse is gone. Replaced by text. It simply says Daytona.
Inside the cabin stayed mostly the same. But the gauges moved. Center cluster style. Like a Mini. Odd choice. But functional.
The Guts
Power? Still the 599 heart. A 6.0 liter V12. 610 horses screaming away.
Transmission is likely the F1 automated manual. Not the gated stick. Nobody wants to hunt gears in a shooting brake anyway.
It debuts in the UK soon. Royal Automobile Club at Woodcote Park.
A tribute? Yes. A sensible buy? Absolutely not. But look at that glass.
Do you think Ferrari would approve? Probably not. But they also don’t have the rights anymore. So who cares?
The engine still roars. That matters more than a logo.
Or maybe we’re just missing something here.
