Ferrari Will Reject Bad Taste Customization to ‘Defend Values’ of the Brand

The rising popularity of Ferrari’s in-house customization program has turned into a delicate balancing act. On one hand, letting buyers with a fat wallet configure their cars generates tremendous amounts of money. On the other hand, the Prancing Horse is worried some of the more far-fetched requests it’s accommodating are tainting its image. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna claims the brand plans to solve this problem by learning how to say, grazie but no grazie.

Rosso Corsa remains closely associated with Ferrari, but in a recent interview, Vigna told The Telegraph that only about 40% of customers choose that color today. Many take advantage of Ferrari’s in-house customization program to request a one-off paint color in a bid to stand out from the crowd, for better or worse. It’s the requests described by The Telegraph as “bling,” “strange,” and “garish” that are keeping executives up at night.

“We have been thinking internally maybe to pre-define the [color] combination,” Vigna announced. “We have to pay attention, because we have to defend the values and the identity of the brand. We will not make a strange car, for sure,” he added.

So, what’s the definition of “strange” in Ferrari-speak? Presumably, a car that’s a little too ostentatious by Maranello’s standards. Likely it’s one of those “money doesn’t buy taste” creations that we’ve all seen and tried to forget. Ironically, the green-camo Ferrari you see above belongs to the once-controversial Lapo Elkann, brother of John Elkann; the Stellantis boss and grandson of Gianni Agnelli.

Like many things, however, it’s worth noting that taste is highly subjective. It’s influenced by each driver’s personality and culture, as well as by each individual’s desire to keep a low profile or to troll as much as possible.

Even if you’re a quadrillionaire, you can’t pay Ferrari enough money to paint your car pink; the brand simply won’t do it. But it can’t shoot down every request. The report notes that the customization program generated a fifth of Ferrari’s revenues in 2024 and helped boost the company’s profits by 21%. Carmakers are businesses, and Ferrari has shareholders to keep happy, so saying no when a client says, “Take my money” is a tough one to explain.

If Ferrari refuses to build your dream, Ferrari, there’s probably an aftermarket company waiting for you with open arms. Taking this route could get owners in serious trouble, however. Vigna told The Telegraph that he’s open to blacklisting buyers who “go too far” in customizing their car.

How far is too far? Will an aftermarket exhaust land you on Ferrari’s naughty list? Can you still put one of those widebody kits on your SF90? Good questions. Try it, and let us know what you find out. This policy isn’t entirely new: in 2014, Canadian DJ Deadmau5 received a cease-and-desist letter from Ferrari after posting pictures of a 458 called Purrari that featured a colorful cat-themed wrap and prancing cat emblems.

Vigna is concerned that a car with the wrong kind of modifications will negatively affect Ferrari’s image and ultimately age into a less-than-desirable part of its heritage. He’s also worried about what happens when a vehicle that has been heavily modified gets traded in. Who do you sell it to? “There are some combinations that are not liked or loved by the second potential buyer,” he told The Telegraph. Selling it at a discount is not an option, and reversing the modifications is often a complicated and extremely expensive process.

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