Ferrari ‘Breadvan’: Coachbuilder Niels van Roij unveils modern-day one-off based on 550 Maranello

Based on the Ferrari 550 Maranello V12 gran turismo coupe, the Breadvan Hommage was designed by coachbuilder Niels van Roij Design, styling the interior and exterior of the coachbuilt motorcar and also overseeing the construction process. "We see it as a great privilege that we can celebrate the ’62 Breadvan through this Hommage commission," says Niels van Roij. "It was a complex task to translate the essence of the legendary car into a contemporary design. We intended to be inspired by the original, but ensured we were not limited by it in our creativity. The Breadvan Hommage is a new original."

The body of the Breadvan Hommage was hand beaten by coachbuilder Bas van Roomen. He works on behalf of collectors and high-end restoration companies. He is one of only a few in the Netherlands that builds modern coachbuilt cars, such as the Breadvan Hommage, Adventum Coupe and the 612 shooting brake. Bas also worked on the clay model of the Breadvan Hommage. Only the windscreen of that car remained OEM and it was painted in one of the eight specially designed reds.

The Breadvan Hommage features a handmade interior. The iconic outline of the exterior design has been embroidered into the blue Alcantara carbon fibre backed seats. The monogram can also be found on the dials, all 7 boasting pure silver inlays. The clock says: ‘che importa’. Italian for ‘who cares!’ All switchgear is made out of milled aluminium, linking to the gated shifter, which is set on a raised block. The driver is surrounded by quilted black leather: it can be found on the centre console, the lower door cards and the headliner. The door panels feature an unpainted, hand beaten aluminium element, which links to the custom body, made in the exact same way. A small embroidered Italian flag in the corner of the aluminium insert is highlighting the roots of the vehicle. The door is opened through pulling a lightweight red cord, whilst a blue Alcantara insert functions as a grab handle to close it.

The ‘60s Breadvan was born to be successful on the racetrack. It’s unique styling, powerful engine, vehicle lay-out and suspension system were all designed for one purpose: being a race winner. Therefore the 1962 Breadvan was equipped with KONI single adjustable shock absorbers. At the time already the state-of-the-art technology. Designed and built by the inventor of the adjustable shock absorbers. Niels van Roij was determined in his vision; as a true celebration to the ’62 Breadvan, the Breadvan Hommage again had to use the best products available. Therefore KONI was asked to design and build one unique set of shock absorbers for the Breadvan Hommage. (Pictured here: Original Ferrari 250 GTO Breadvan)

Another key aspect of performance – and also the finishing touch for any supercar – are the tyres. Leveraging again on Vredestein’s long experience with styling, the Ultrac Vorti+ is making its debut appearance on the Breadvan Hommage. This ultra-high-performance summer tyre, which was originally developed in 2013, is fully dedicated to supercars and designed in close collaboration with ItalDesign Giugiaro.

Van Roij: “A car is a complex, three dimensional sculpture, which has to look right from all angles and under different light circumstances. Like sketching, the clay modelling process is iterative and the Breadvan Hommage was reshaped many times, to get it spot on. After establishing the correct proportions the search for sophistication in the surfacing, or skin, started: finding the right subtleties for transitions from one element to another. It includes the exterior graphics like the richly sculpted air vents on the front fenders."