One-off Ferrari 458 pays tribute to Niki Lauda

A one-off Ferrari 458 has been created by a client of Ferrari’s Tailor Made Programne paying tribute to Ferrari F1 driver Niki Lauda.

[nggallery id=1712 template=customlinks]

Younger readers might not see the connection between Ferrari and Niki Lauda; after all, Niki Lauda is Chairman of the Mercedes F1 team, not Ferrari.

But back in the 1970s, Niki Lauda was the Prince of the Ferrari F1 team, notching up driver titles in 1975 and 1977 in a Ferrari (and suffering horrific burns at the Nurburgring in 1975).

Although Lauda left Ferrari  in 1977 on less than good terms, the Ron Howard tribute film to the ’70s battle between Lauda and James Hunt – Rush – has obviously had an impact on one of Ferrari’s wealthier clients, who has commissioned Ferrari’s Tailor Made Programme to create a Ferrari 458 dedicated to Niki Lauda.

The Lauda 458 gets a red paint job with a white roof complete with Italian flag motif, with an interior that sees the Italian flag motif on the seats and central tunnel, red stitching, a steering wheel with LEDs and F1 type gear shifts.

We can’t imagine Lauda had any input in to the 458 created in his name – and it’s not exactly a subtle makeover for the mid-engined Ferrari – but it obviously floated the boat of the deep-pocketed Ferrari client.