Inside Universo Ferrari, Ferarri’s Immersive Exhibition of the Ferrari Legacy

Ferrari has an aura. 

There is far more to Ferrari than people realize. There is breadth and depth, there is emotion and passion, there is technical expertise, there is artistry and craftsmanship. It’s not all that easy to communicate this to the world when all they see are the shiny cars and the trophies. 

Enthusiasts make pilgrimages to Ferrari, to its facilities and museums, and its race tracks and their shops. But Ferrari always wants to do more.

Universo Ferrari is one of their ways of doing this. This immersive exhibition that showcased the different parts of the world of Ferrari has only been done three times previously, in Australia and Korea, and of course, Italy. The fourth one, and the first one ever in Southeast Asia, was held in Thailand at the end of 2024.

The experience started with walking through a kind of red tunnel, with the words of Enzo Ferrari the first thing you will see. “I believe factories are made of machines, walls and people. Ferrari is made most of all by people.”

Walking through the exhibit, you are led through several different “worlds,” all of which are part of the whole of the marquee. The big draw of the show was the new Ferrari supercar, the F80, which has, by the way, two sets of racing seatbelts but only one real seat. This is how Ferrari answers challenges. The new car needed to be seriously cutting-edge, as seen with the use of the electric/petrol hybrid system of propulsion that is similar to what they use in the racing hypercars. But this is a road car, and it is meant to be shared. That much power on the road, though, needs massive aerodynamic force keeping it on the road, hence the one real seat and a set of fully-accredited seatbelts (harnesses really) that keep any lucky passenger in place on what kind of looks like a ledge. This allowed the designers to shape the undertray of the car to allow maximum use of airflow to keep the car on the ground at speed. 

This is what people don’t always understand about Ferrari. They see beautiful shapes and racing trophies and high price tags but they often don’t see everything that is in service to all this, which is why the different spaces at the Universo Ferrari exhibit were meant to bring people closer to understanding everything involved.

There were, of course, racecars. The F1-2000 Formula 1 car used by Michael Schumacher to win his third of many World Championships was on exhibit, as well as different parts, such as rear wings, and explanations of how things work. On the floor as well was the Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar that won the 24-hour endurance race in 2023 and 2024. 

In a true example of how the prancing horse worlds meld, we moved over to what they called the “Sport Cars Zone” via a road car that customers use to go racing. The 296 is Ferrari’s current slice-and-dice road car using the same hybrid technology we just mentioned in both coupe GTB and droptop GTS mode. It is the platform (as 296 GT3) used for GT3 racing and for the different series’ that customers can join themselves. Also on hand were some other road-going cars such as the new 12Cilindri which had its own area of aural wonder (it sounded awesome) and the four door Purosangue. (It drives like a really comfortable and insanely fast rally car.)

Classic cars are of course a part of their world, and the Ferrari Classiche Zone had its own special area just as it does in the factory where they work on restoring and maintaining seriously collectible cars. On display were a Ferrari F50 that was built to celebrate the marque’s fiftieth anniversary and what many consider one of the most beautiful and memorable Ferraris ever, the 308 GTB. 

Then we had the world that is more accessible to much of the rest of us, the Lifestyle zone, as befits the most valuable brand in the world. Many don’t realize all the different touch points at different levels that are actually available, and often with completely different lines for road cars and racing and Formula 1 (and sometimes, just for identity). There were displays of items such as clothes and jackets and such, but what was particularly interesting was walking through an explanation of the technology Ferrari uses in cars that ended up in, of all things, a very limited edition Maranello Clutch. A bag, not a car part.

“I am delighted to introduce the journey of innovation that the brand has embarked on to our clients and fans in Thailand, a very important market for Ferrari,” said Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer of Ferrari SpA Enrico Gallieri. “Universo Ferrari is an exclusive event that showcases the timeless beauty, innovative technology, and dynamic performance that Ferrari has led the automotive industry with for over 77 years.”