A new year, a new unique project by the Dutch designer Niels van Roij. Niels van Roij Design today presents a very special tribute to a classic Ferrari.
We welcome: the Breadvan Hommage, a tribute to the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan. This is a unique classic based on the Ferrari 250 GT SWB that had to compete with the then more modern 250 GTO. On the outside, the ‘Breadvan’ was especially characterized by its striking carriage that continues far to the rear, which ended in a truncated Kamm tail. Niels van Roij Design translates the primal Breadvan into the present with this exclusive Breadvan Hommage.
Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan (1962)
Although the Breadvan Hommage has 2021 as the year of birth, the car that is hiding under the carriage is not a current Ferrari. Niels van Roij Design folds the Breadvan Hommage around a 550 Maranello, the successor to the Testarossa that saw the light of day in 1996. The 550 Maranello is particularly visible in the interior and the front part of the car. However, that does not mean that the Breadvan Hommage is not unique to the B-pillar. Niels van Roij Design gives the Breadvan Hommage a more individual look, among other things by giving his one-off, built for a customer, a voluptuously sculpted bonnet. “It was a complex task to translate the essence of the legendary car into a contemporary design. We wanted to be inspired by the original, while not limiting our creativity. The Breadvan Hommage is a new original”, says Niels van Roij. According to the creative draftsman, only the windscreen of the 550 Maranello has been left untouched. Other striking design elements are the four tailpipes protruding far from the bottom and of course the distinctive vertical rear window. Striking detail: a glass dome in the hood gives the viewer a glimpse of the mighty V12 of the 550 Maranello.
Although the basic shape of the interior cannot hide the fact that the cockpit comes from a 550 Maranello, it has been thoroughly overhauled. Niels van Roij Design gives the Breadvan Hommage sports seats upholstered in blue Alcantara and specific clocks behind the steering wheel. All seven dials have a silver inlay. The clock has ‘che importa’ written – Italian for ‘who cares!’. Various buttons are milled from aluminum. Door panels, headliner and center console are covered in black leather. The Breadvan Hommage gets unique adjustable shock absorbers from Koni from its creators. Indeed, just like the 1962 original.
The carriage of the Breadvan Hommage was beaten by hand by the Dutch coachbuilder Bas van Roomen. He also worked on the Adventum Coupé, also designed by Niels van Roij, and on the 612 Shooting Break by the Dutch Vandenbrink Design. We also know Niels van Roij Design not only from the Adventum Coupé, but also from a station version of the Tesla Model S and the recently unveiled Silver Specter, a shooting brake based on the previous generation Rolls-Royce Ghost.