This One-Off Ferrari Is a Vibrant 819 HP Ode to Korean Culture

We have come to expect the worlds of fine art and technology to be affirmations of human potential, so it’s no surprise that the high-performance automobile has increasingly become a showcase for both. That crossroads now has a new mile marker: the Ferrari 12Cilindri Tailor Made. At a time when societal and geopolitical divisions dominate headlines, this one-off is a refreshing example of multicultural collaboration and inclusive creative expression.

Debuted in Seoul, South Korea, the unique 12Cilindri was two years in the making, a project that initially partnered the storied Italian marque and its Tailor Made customization division with New York-based Cool Hunting. It was through the latter that five young artists from South Korea were added to the team, each already on their own fast track to prominence.

“We were asked to help Ferrari Tailor Made create a car that would honor and respect Korea,” says Josh Rubin, who along with his partner Evan Orensten founded the curatorial online presence Cool Hunting more than two decades ago. “Cool Hunting is a platform for storytelling about creativity and innovation across lots of different categories—art, design, tech, food, travel, cars . . . we really lean into the stories of process, the stories of inspiration, the stories of the creators, the artists, the designers,” Rubin tells Robb Report. “In the last several years, we’ve continued to evolve into a place where we create things to tell stories about, and this project is a really great example of that.”

The mission statement for the supercar was twofold: celebrate the zeitgeist of an Asian populace that holds on to heritage while simultaneously embracing the future, and be a new benchmark for the Tailor Made creatives back at Maranello. “This car represents the peak of our Tailor Made program because it goes far beyond the concept of personalization,” says Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s chief design officer, during a conversation with Robb Report at the reveal. “For the first time, we are integrating real pieces of art . . . creating this cross-fertilization with artists that are fantastic in their vision . . . interpreters of the local culture.” The artists ultimately given the opportunity to contribute were TaeHyun Lee, Dahye Jeong, Hyunhee Kim, and the pairing of Graycode, Jiiiiin. The common thread tying their work together was the car’s tagline: “Inspired by Tradition, Driven by Innovation.”

For TaeHyun Lee, that tradition translated into his use of lacquer, which is represented on the paddle shifters and the brake calipers. According to Lee, the lacquer he works with comes from the Urushi tree from Japan, which secretes a substance whose application traces back to the Joseon Dynasty that spanned more than five centuries. “The process of acquiring the lacquer is very poetic, and also ironic,” says Lee. “We hurt the tree on purpose, and the sap that’s created to protect itself, we extract to protect our precious materials.” Lee draws the parallel of the lacquer to that of the Italian automaker, noting that “Ferrari is bringing something that is very raw, its racing heritage, but using that to create its own methods and innovations, like paddle shifters.”

To get the lacquer to be white was a painstaking labor of love, but one very important to Lee: “The reason why we were able to develop so fast was the Korean identity of interpreting foreign cultures and then reinterpreting them into our own personal stories . . . we’re very good at doing that, and I feel that symbolizes the color white . .  . like a white canvas.”

Perhaps more noticeable at first glance, though, is the work of Graycode, Jiiiiin—two electro-acoustic composers. Experiencing the visceral nature of the 819 hp 12Cilindri during hot laps they were given at the start of the endeavor, they recorded the V-12 engine’s soundtrack and then transposed that symphony of internal combustion into an elaborate visual pattern that subtly runs from the nose of the car and carries vertically over the hood.

The most intricate expression came from artist Dahye Jeong. With horsehair as her medium, she employs a weaving practice that also dates back to the Joseon Dynasty. Ferrari’s supplied notes on the artist mention that her “pattern has been woven in a new synthetic textile made in South Korea for the seats, used in a Ferrari for the first time.” Elevating her contribution further, a screen print of her horsehair matrix has been integrated into the sunroof to dapple the light. Finally, horsehair comprises the artistic element adorning the dash.

Yet the most striking departure from convention has arguably been provided by artist Hyunhee Kim, whose take on traditional Korean furniture juxtaposes ornate structure and space. Kim acknowledges white as representative of Korea’s cultural reflectiveness, but goes a step further. This is evident in all of the exterior Ferrari badging and lettering that is now completely translucent. The idea of altering Ferrari’s iconography has always been anathema–until now. “In this case, we decided to make an exception and to use the acrylic to generate this kind of magic effect, which actually enhances the beauty of our logos,” notes Manzoni. Just don’t expect to see such badging variations in the future.

Also intended to only to be seen in this car are Kim’s two-piece translucent boxes in the trunk for the owner to “store memories,” and the dedication plate—affixed between the seats—emblazoned with cloud-like calligraphy spelling out “12 Han,” a reference to the number of cylinders and the word denoting what Rubin mentions to be “the spirit of Koreans.”

Providing the greatest visual impact of this mobile gallery, however, is the arresting Yoonseul paint dressing the exterior. Ferrari touts its shade-shifter as drawing “inspiration from Celadon ceramics.” As for the name itself, “Yoonseul” refers to the dance of light on water, and this color scheme hints at Seoul’s skyline illumination doing just that on the river.

The sum total of these disparate artistic presentations forms a cohesive cultural calling card for Ferrari and Korea, and is a testament to the curation of Cool Hunting and their consultant on the project, JaeEun “Jane” Lee. “Every Ferrari is special. A Tailor Made Ferrari even more so. And one that pushes the boundaries of creativity, materials, colors, and engineering, really gets to our comfort zone,” says Orensten of Cool Hunting’s involvement. “These projects always start with a long and very creative brainstorm, knowing that only some of our ideas will make it to the final car.”

It’s a road that Orensten and Rubin travelled before with Ferrari, specifically in the development of the  Ferrari Roma Tailor Made Specially Crafted for Cool Hunting that premiered in 2022. And as with that Roma, there will surely be some aspects that now get added to the Tailor Made portfolio of customization options available, while others will remain exclusive to this singular example.

Importantly, the intrinsic worth of Ferrari’s 12Cilindri Tailor Made is not in the undisclosed monetary figure it comes in at, or its future collectability, or even the numerous stylistic elements it debuts. This Prancing Horse’s true value is in its rarefied provenance established and defined by the build process itself. After all, it brought together a team from three continents to create the automotive manifestation of a culture that, as some of the artists mentioned, absorbs outside influences and transmits them back to the world with a captivating flair all its own.

This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.