The Ferrari Mythos was among the cars displayed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sergio Pininfarina’s birth at the 2026 Turin Auto Show. Its appearance brought renewed attention to one of Pininfarina’s most unconventional Ferrari-based projects, first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1989.
Ferrari Mythos returns to the spotlight at Turin Auto Show 2026
Pietro Camardella designed the Mythos using the Ferrari Testarossa as its mechanical foundation while completely rethinking the body. The project drew inspiration from Ferrari race cars of the 1960s through its extremely low, open layout, but avoided simply recreating a historic design. Instead, Pininfarina explored new surfaces and proportions that gave the car an identity of its own.
The lack of a roof and the unusual treatment of the body make its Testarossa origins difficult to recognize at first glance. Large, clean surfaces dominate the design, while the profile creates a clear visual separation between the cockpit and the rear section. The Testarossa supplied the mechanical hardware, but Pininfarina gave the Mythos a completely different appearance.
Aerodynamics also played an active role in the concept. The Mythos featured a movable front element and an adjustable rear wing, showing that Pininfarina considered airflow alongside styling. The company treated the car as a design laboratory rather than a simple static showpiece, while still giving it a functioning mechanical base.
Power came from the Testarossa’s 180-degree 12-cylinder engine, rated at 390 CV, or about 385 hp. Composite materials helped keep weight down to around 1,250 kg, or 2,756 pounds. However, the available performance data does not provide a consistent enough basis for a precise comparison with the production Testarossa.
The Japanese debut also marked an important moment in Pininfarina’s history. The company still highlights the Mythos’ appearance at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show and its subsequent 1990 Car Design Award among the milestones of that period. The concept helped strengthen Pininfarina’s international reputation beyond the production cars it designed.
At Turin, the Mythos appeared in the Corte d’Onore alongside other Pininfarina-designed Ferraris, including the F40 and 512 TR. The display brought together cars created within a relatively close period but for very different purposes, from production models shaped by practical requirements to a show car that gave designers much greater freedom.
The 1989 Mythos represented that more experimental side of Pininfarina’s work during the Sergio Pininfarina era.
