UPDATE: 2026/08/17 10:15 EST BY DAN CLOUGHER
A speculative section looking to decode the CZ26’s unusual title has been included.
A Ferrari is an unreachable dream for many, but for some buyers even these rare high-performance Italian machines are too passé. For them, Ferrari offers its Special Projects program, a coachbuilding service that turns bespoke automotive fantasies into reality through one-off designs. The latest creation, unveiled overnight as part of Ferrari’s Monterey Car Week showcase, is the CZ26. Based on the SF90 Stradale and commissioned by a customer in the US, it joins the HC25 revealed in May as one of two Special Projects Ferraris unveiled this year.
If The Luce Was A Supercar
Ferrari CZ26 Front 3/4 ViewFerrari
Due to the performance limitations of battery technology, Ferrari was never going to make its first electric vehicle a supercar, instead choosing a four-door grand tourer for the model we know as the Luce. However, if the Luce had been developed as a supercar, it might have looked something like the CZ26. Both share a broad, squared-off front end and lower intakes that are basically rectangles. They also both have hidden headlights and daytime running lights consisting of a straight line.
This isn’t by chance. The goal of the design was to give the classic supercar a forward-looking vision through what Ferrari refers to as a “technological design language.” The idea is to adopt modern elements such as precision and purity, hallmarks of the Luce’s design, while still creating something that’s immediately recognizable as a Ferrari.
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Elsewhere, the CZ26 adopts more contemporary Ferrari supercar design cues. The sides borrow heavily from the donor SF90 Stradale, particularly when it comes to the greenhouse and overall proportions, while the rear follows Ferrari’s current design theme, with a small ducktail spoiler and taillights that are almost a match for those found on the 12Cilindri. With its silver finish and almost two-box profile, it’s also not hard to see some similarities between the CZ26’s design and that of the 2022 Hyundai N Vision 74 concept, which is tipped to spawn a production version later this decade.
The CZ26 Is All About Attention To Detail
Ferrari CZ26 Interior ViewFerrari
The interior carries the same design theme, with a bespoke black technical fabric forming the centerpiece of the cabin instead of your more traditional leather. The seats also feature custom inserts made using 3D printing. Additional technical fabrics with a matte finish contrast with satin and carbon fiber accents, the latter incorporating metallic filaments, while body-colored elements on the doors and upper dashboard tie the cabin back to the exterior.
Ferrari also paid close attention to the CZ26’s finer exterior details. The exclusive Argento Veloce paint has a liquid-like silver effect that highlights the car’s surfaces, while red Rosso Lampante accents and pigmented carbon fiber add contrast. Custom wheels combine gloss-black paint with a distinctive textured finish, while natural-finish titanium exhaust tips complete the look.
What’s In A Name?
At times, it might look as if Ferrari throws a dart at the alphabet and picks numbers out of a hat when piecing together a new model name, but there is always method in the madness. For example, Ferrari 250 models were so-called as they boasted 250cc per cylinder, while the F430 was named as such due to its 4.3-liter V8.
Ferrari has not explicitly stated what CZ26 stands for, although some speculate the ’26’ could relate to the year of its release, or that it’s the 26th Special Project to have been commissioned. As for the ‘CZ,’ which also hasn’t been officially explained, it could refer to the commissioning individual’s initials, such was the case with Eric Clapton’s SP12 EC.
Not An EV, But Electrified
Ferrari CZ26 Top ViewFerrari
As with all the cars created via the Special Projects service, the donor car’s powertrain is left untouched. This means the CZ26 packs a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The 90-degree V8 develops 786 horsepower on its own but works together with a trio of electric motors, two at the front and one at the rear, to bump total system output to 986 hp. That same powertrain now makes 1,036 hp in the 849 Testarossa, the SF90’s successor.
Before you start dreaming up your own one-off Ferrari, note that even having the funds, thought to be around $4 million just to start, isn’t enough. The service is only open to Ferrari’s most loyal customers and is by invitation only. There’s also a long waiting list, as Ferrari tends to take on a maximum of just two projects per year.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters
Ferrari CZ26 Front ViewFerrari
A Special Projects Ferrari is a car most of us will never see in person, let alone own. But the program still matters. As the CZ26 demonstrates, it gives Ferrari a chance to experiment with new design elements and explore how its traditional supercar formula can evolve for the future. Heck, the unveiling of any new Ferrari, even an extremely limited one, is still exciting.
But here’s the thing we keep coming back to. Ferrari has proven itself capable of designing stylish electrified supercars like this. If this design language had been used on the Luce, even as a five-seat grand tourer, it wouldn’t have faced half the backlash it did. If Ferrari can produce cars like this, then why isn’t it doing so more regularly? Have we reached the point that you have to sign a blank check to guarantee you’ll get something special from a brand that has built its name on building special things?
