CAPTIVATING ALLURE OF LUMINOUS SUPERCAR 1984
Luminous Supercar 1984 is a life-size mixed media installation by FLIP ZIEDSES DES PLANTES (FZDP) design studio, inspired by the iconic 1984 Ferrari Testarossa and the aesthetic subcultures of the nineteen-eighties. Now available exclusively through TheArsenale, this extraordinary artwork dissolves the boundary between automotive design and contemporary art in a way that no photograph or replica could replicate.
What Is the Luminous Supercar 1984?
The Luminous Supercar 1984 is not a solid car. It is constructed from a series of UV-reflective slices arranged in the precise silhouette of the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa. In the exhibition space, UV lights are positioned to illuminate only these slices, so the outline of the Testarossa glows in magenta while the surrounding room remains in complete darkness. Fog generators at the base of the installation create the impression that the car floats on a cloud, responding to visitors' presence with ambient sounds that deepen the sensory experience.
The full project portfolio is documented on the FZDP design studio website. Technical details of the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa that served as inspiration are available from Ferrari's official archive.
Origins: A Branded Installation for Filling Pieces
The Luminous Supercar 1984 was originally commissioned by Amsterdam sneaker label Filling Pieces as a centrepiece for a fashion exhibition held at Galerie Perrotin during Paris Fashion Week. The brief asked FZDP to translate the visual DNA of Filling Pieces' 1980s-inspired footwear collection into a physical installation that would stop visitors in their tracks.
FZDP's team built the entire installation in a matter of weeks. The result won a FESPA Gold Award in 2019 and became one of the most widely shared moments of that Paris Fashion Week, generating significant brand exposure across social media platforms.
The Light and Perception Experience
What makes the Luminous Supercar 1984 remarkable is the interplay between emitted and reflected light. As viewers move around the installation, the magenta contours shift, revealing and concealing different planes of the car's body. The experience plays on how the human eye processes light in darkness, creating a sense of depth and motion in an object that is, structurally, a series of two-dimensional slices.
This tension between illusion and material reality is what elevates the piece from a clever visual trick to a work of genuine artistic depth. It is simultaneously a tribute to one of the most celebrated supercar silhouettes ever produced and a meditation on how design becomes mythology.
Acquire the Luminous Supercar 1984
The Luminous Supercar 1984 is available for purchase through TheArsenale, representing a rare opportunity to bring one of the most visually arresting automotive art pieces of recent years into a private collection or commercial space. For those who collect at the intersection of automotive history and contemporary design, explore the full automotive art collection at TheArsenale, including the Pink Ferrari by RIOCAM and the evocative 512M Mare Palm by RIOCAM, for a complete picture of how art and the supercar meet in TheArsenale's curatorial vision.
