In 1938, as the world plunged headlong into one of its bloodiest cycles, Saudi Arabia he found the secret of his happiness underground. He Petrolium which emerged in streams have favored its rise in the Middle East and on the international scene for decades. Instead, in 1940 Japan allied with Germany and Italy in a war by which it was sunk. By then, Enzo Ferrari was slamming the door at Alfa Romeo. All of them – the Saudi royals, the miracle of the rising sun and the marque from Maranello – met 45 years later and gave birth to a car like no other: a japanese ferrari.
The Ferrari 400i Meera emerged in the early 1980s AS commissioned by King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia for his son Saoudmembers of a family whose fortune currently stands at an estimated $1.6 trillion.
By then they were already a group with power and ambition. The order was a one-off, those cars that are made to measure for the customer and it was very strange that they had a prancing Horse. But the power of money can do almost anything.
The call fell on a legend of automotive design, Giovanni Michelotti. The guidelines indicated the Far East. The mechanical vehicle Made in Modena and blows Made in Turin It had to be a reinterpretation of the 400i model with the trends that the revived Japanese industry was setting through the latest Mazda and Toyota.
It saw the light in 1983, in exchange for an astronomical sum. But it has aged in the shadow of good taste and, four decades later, has become an obsolete car for which a buyer paid “just” 400,000 euros for when it went to auction in 2022.
Thus was born the Japanese Ferrari
Saudi Arabia holds oil for about 20% of the world’s reserves of the commodity. The owner of all this is the Al Saud clan. Or rather, a small part of the royal family, about 3,000 of the 15,000 members who make up the clan tree, according to the El Mundo newspaper.
In recent times the most repeated name has been that of Prince Mohamed bin Salman: he was the architect of the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at the local league, he bought Premier League club Newcastle and was also tasked with signing Lionel Messi as a tourism promoter. For now, this is the deal with Rosario, whom she continues to seduce to pardon the Saudi courts.
He is also accused by the CIA of being responsible for the crime of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, he hadn’t been born in the early eighties. The story has had other protagonists: the king, Prince Saud and one of his loved ones.
There was no saving in choosing the craftsman who would put his hands at the disposal of the extravagant sports car. have chosen John Michelotti, an expert designer who had worked at the Stabilimenti Farina and Vignale houses. He also collaborated with Ghia, another historic Turin banner.
Michelotti had built a solid personal reputation in the world of motorsport. His had been the Renault Alpine A110 who dazzled in European and world rallies with nearly 20 victories in the first three years of the 1970s. He also signed Maserati models and left his signature on more than a dozen Ferraris, including the 166 Inter, considered the company’s first grand tourer.
He died shortly after receiving the order, on January 23, 1980. Strictly speaking, it is not known whether he came to put his personal stamp on the order that traveled from Saudi Arabia. His team, led by his son Edgardo, did most of the work, if not the entire process. Owners and auction houses point out that Giovanni managed to make some sketches and swear that it is therefore the artist’s latest creation.
in 1983Finally, the 400i Meera S leaves Turinthe king’s whim for his son who bore the name of his then companion and the initial of his own name. All in exchange for the huge sum of a million dollars..
How was one of the ugliest Maranello cars in history
The model that served as the basis was the 400i, a two-door, four-seater (2+2) coupé. With a Pininfarina design, production began in 1979 and was discontinued in 1985. Michelotti – or his team – kept the mechanicals of the car they worked on, a 1983 model, intact.
Therefore, even today it is a V12 engine placed in the front position, 4.8 liters with 315 HP of power at 6,500 rpm. It reaches 100 km/h in 8.2 seconds and its top speed is 235 km/h. Even the interior looks like it almost came out of the factory: The elegant blue and raw leather upholstery has been dyed red and cream. The main difference, however, lies in the exterior and, moreover, in the details.
The body has introduced several modifications. On the front, the retractable headlights stand out, below which flashes a grille with four horizontal lines with a prominence prohibited in the basic model. If the change is impressive up front, behind it is a new work: it seemed to have acquired an additional volume, in addition to the cambers that finish the passenger compartment on both sides and the modifications to the rear window and the windows of the two rear seats.
There, in those inappropriate lines of a Ferrari, the oriental influence can still be seen. At that time I was flying over the success that the Mazda RX-7 FB and the Toyota Supra MKI had had in Europe, at a time when Japanese industry was enjoying the momentum of the post-war miracle and was already competing on equal terms with the West. Fuji white was not chosen for nothing.
The technology is noticeable in the details. The vehicle is equipped with a rear view camera and monitor as a rear view mirror. With temperatures typically exceeding 40C, the weather in Saudi Arabia was a matter of concern for the commission. As a solution it was implemented a double air conditioning system and extractor and ventilation built into the doors. An unusual and unresolved complication is that the windows could only be rolled down in a lower corner. Of course: everyone has their own cleaner.
Saudi Arabia, a Dutch drug trafficker and the gang that broke predictions
What happened next is unknown. Fans who’ve been following his handprint suggest the prince gifted it to a friend a few months after receiving it. It has subsequently gone on sale several times, with advertisements in the United States, Dubai and the Netherlands. Some reports indicate this the Meera was confiscated from a famous Dutch drug lordafter one of his periodic arrests, in 1993. In any case, according to a review prior to 2010, in nearly three decades he had covered just 3,000 miles.
That year he entered the Ferrari Classiche workshop, the department of the Maranello company that deals with restoring and updating the old models of the Prancing Horse. The engine and electrical system have been renewed, the exhaust system has also been replaced, new tires have been fitted and the brakes have been adjusted. The investment was 252,100 euros.
was put auctioned for the house by RM Sotheby’s in 2022. The specialists anticipated that the winning offer would have been around 100,000 euros. A real bargain to have a vehicle with the Maranello logo, which in its unique and special versions can go up to 3 million dollars. It was played against him that this one-off didn’t come from the official bowels -he doesn’t even have a review on the page-, but was the work of an external bodybuilder. In addition, the company opened its own customization department in 2008, thereby devaluing these independent one-of-a-kind pieces.
Finally, the winning proposal exceeded all predictions: “an astonishing 245% above forecasts,” celebrated the auction house. The anonymous buyer paid 435,500 euros keep a car that is a jewel: a Ferrari inspired by Japanese industry under the mandate of a Saudi king. A mockery of elegance that happens once and for all.
Source: Clarin
Ben Stock is a journalist working for News Rebeat, where he covers the automobile section. With a passion for cars and the industry, Ben brings insightful and in-depth reporting to his readers.
