Judges at the 37th Paris Festival Automobile International have awarded the “Grand Prize: Most Beautiful Supercar 2022” to a Ferrari, the Ferrari Daytona SP3.
Also winning awards were the (Citroen) DS4 as the world’s most beautiful car, the Renault 5 prototype as the most beautiful concept car, and the Peugeot 9X8 as the most beautiful hypercar.
The Ferrari Daytona SP3 is part of Ferrari’s limited-edition Icona series, which launched in 2018 with the Monza SP1 and SP2. Icona cars have designs inspired by the Ferrari competition barchettas of a bygone era.
Ferrari said Icona cars celebrate the company’s history “by reinterpreting the timeless styling of the marque’s most iconic cars to radically modern effort using the most innovative materials and technologies available today.”
“The idea of taking inspiration from a particular time in history, which lies at the core of the Icona concept, goes much further than merely reusing styling cues from the past,” Ferrari added.
“Rather the aim is to distill the very essence of an era and using it as a spring board to create new concepts that themselves are unique enough to become icons for future generations. The Icona cars all boast exclusive solutions not seen in the rest of the range and are aimed solely at Ferrari’s top clients and collectors, proud ambassadors for the Prancing Horse marque.”
Ferrari said the Daytona SP3 design “is a harmonious interplay of contrasts, sublimely sculptural, voluptuous surfaces alternating with the kind of sharper lines that revealed the burgeoning importance of aerodynamics in the design of ‘60s and ‘70s racers such as the 330 P4, 350 Can-Am and 512 S.
“The bold choice of a ‘Targa’ body with a removable hard top was also inspired by the sports prototype world: consequently, the Ferrari Daytona SP3 not only delivers exhilarating driving pleasure but also usable performance.”
In addition to the award for the car, Paris Festival judges presented Ferrari’s chief design officer Flavio Manzoni with the “Grand Prize of Design” award for his creative and influential work.
While the awards were presented, the planned exhibition of concept cars and outstanding examples of automotive design at the Invalides has been postponed for public health concerns.
