When most people think of a 1980s or 1990s Ferrari, they imagine Testarossas, pop-up headlights, sharp wedges, and red supercar posters plastered across bedroom walls.
What they probably do not imagine is a roofless, doorless Ferrari that looks like a smiling shoe.
Yet that is exactly what visitors can now see at the Petersen Automotive Museum, where one of the strangest one-off Ferraris ever created is currently on display.
Called the Ferrari Conciso, this bizarre coachbuilt machine is equal parts design experiment, collectible art piece, and lightweight performance weapon.
A Ferrari Unlike Any Other
The 1993 Ferrari Conciso was built using a 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS as its foundation, but nearly everything familiar about the donor car was transformed.
Created by a German design studio led by Bernd Michalak, the project aimed to strip a Ferrari down to its purest driving essentials. Gone were the roof, doors, windshield, and many of the comfort-focused components that made the 328 a civilized grand tourer.
What remained was an open-air speedster with hand-formed aluminum bodywork and a silhouette unlike anything else wearing a Prancing Horse badge.
Its front end, featuring a wide circular intake and low-mounted fixed headlights, gave the Conciso its famously cheerful expression.
Nearly 800 Pounds Lighter Than A 328
The most dramatic change was the weight reduction.
According to the museum’s presentation, the Conciso shed roughly 800 pounds compared to a standard Ferrari 328 GTS, bringing curb weight down to around 1,960 pounds (889 kg).
For perspective, that makes it lighter than many modern sports cars, including the current Mazda MX-5 Miata, while still packing a Ferrari V8 mounted behind the driver.
That drastic diet transformed the car’s character from a comfortable weekend cruiser into something much more raw and responsive.
Classic Ferrari V8 Power
Despite the radical bodywork, the mechanical package remained largely true to the Ferrari 328.
Power came from Ferrari’s 3.2-liter quad-cam V8 producing around 270 horsepower, paired with the brand’s iconic gated five-speed manual transmission.
With far less weight to move, the Conciso was reportedly capable of 0-60 mph in around five seconds and could continue on to roughly 173 mph (278 km/h).
In a car with no roof, no real windshield, and almost no insulation, those numbers would feel especially dramatic.
A True One-Off Ferrari
The Conciso debuted publicly at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show before also appearing at Geneva.
It was never meant for production. Instead, it served as a design study exploring what a Ferrari could become if athleticism and simplicity were prioritized above luxury.
For years, the car reportedly lived in a private Belgian collection, where it was occasionally displayed indoors like a sculpture rather than a means of transport.
With only one ever built, it remains one of the rarest Ferrari-based creations in existence.
Now On Display In Los Angeles
The Petersen Automotive Museum says the Conciso is currently displayed in the museum lobby, giving visitors a chance to see one of Ferrari history’s oddest side stories up close.
That alone makes the museum worth a stop, because in a world full of predictable collector cars, a smiling, roofless Ferrari with a gated manual gearbox is impossible to ignore.