A new exhibition has opened in Turin at the National Automobile Museum (MAUTO), bringing together 23 single-seaters that have made Formula 1 history. Visitors can explore how the so-called “garagistes” challenged Maranello with revolutionary and often daring concepts. Among the highlights are rare gems not to be missed, such as the Lotus 88C.
The title of the exhibition already sets the tone: “The Drake’s enemies. Enzo Ferrari and the British teams.” It could just as easily be described as Maranello versus the rest. Ferrari opens and closes the exhibition, which was inaugurated in Turin on April 1 at the MAUTO (National Automobile Museum) and will remain open until October 11. The journey begins with the 1958 Ferrari 246, the last red car with a front-mounted engine, and concludes with the “duck,” the Ferrari 640, which introduced the semi-automatic gearbox and famously won on its debut at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix with Nigel Mansell.
In between lies the entire saga of the “garagistes,” as Enzo Ferrari used to call the British teams that challenged the Prancing Horse and its dominance in Formula 1 between the 1960s and 1980s. With minimal structures, revolutionary technical solutions, and extraordinary speed in experimentation, these independent teams transformed small engineering workshops into racing outfits that would go on to shape Grand Prix history.
The exhibition is highly recommended, as it offers visitors the opportunity to step into a kind of time machine, retracing the evolution of Formula 1 cars through a journey that is difficult to replicate. Carlo Cavicchi and Mario Donnini, together with Maurizio Cilli, have assembled 23 cars—21 British and 2 Italian—that represent a snapshot of an era defined by technical experimentation and creative freedom. It was a period marked by extreme risks, intense rivalries, and strong visual identities that helped shape new cultural imaginaries in motorsport.
This is a universe of technology, style, and pioneering spirit, where single-seaters become symbols of an industrial and cultural revolution capable of redefining the very image of racing.
The exhibition spans over 2,000 square meters of display space on the ground floor of MAUTO, where the Formula 1 cars are surrounded by an installation designed to recreate the cultural and social context of Great Britain at the time—namely the era of Swinging London.
Through a selection of iconic cars from the teams known as the “seven sisters”—Cooper, Lotus, March, Brabham, Tyrrell, McLaren, and Williams—additional entries include Arrows, Shadow, Theodore, and Surtees. Each car on display has its own story: some are winners and dominant machines, while others are extremely rare models that never raced, such as the March 2-4-0, Robin Herd’s six-wheeler with four rear wheels, and the Lotus 88C, the innovative car featuring a twin-chassis concept and one of the first carbon-fiber structures.
The exhibition also features a selection of photographs by Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, known as “RWS,” one of the greatest Formula 1 photographers of that era. A true master behind the lens, he was able to capture the speed, tension, and danger of racing, transforming them into powerful and timeless visual storytelling.
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