Montblanc and Ferrari’s new pen is inspired by the carmaker’s iconic Daytona SP3 -

The Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3 Limited Edition 599 can balance on its base, and looks more like a blade than a pen. Made from titanium, its cap is angled to mimic sports car Ferrari Daytona SP3’s nose splicing through the air, while the car’s distinctive gills, on the front and rear bumpers, show up on both the barrel and forepart. On a Zoom call, Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s chief design officer, says,

Flavio Manzoni

“Together we wanted to imagine an object that was normative, not only in terms of shape, but also in terms of new technical solutions at the core of the object.”

Design theory

In a first, for this pen, the German luxury brand Montblanc has reimagined its ink-filling mechanism behind a semi-translucent red blade. The brand’s CEO Nicolas Baretzki notes that its collaboration with Ferrari started with the collectionGreat Characters , inspired by Enzo Ferrari. On a separate Zoom call, he says, “It’s an interesting journey we’re having with Ferrari.” “The relationship went so well, that we decided to sign a much longer contract and at the end, the idea was to create something exceptional.” The result is the 599-unit limited edition pen.

Elaborating on the writing instrument’s design, Manzoni says, “We wanted to make something very subtle. For example, we wanted to transfer the feeling of organic sculpture with elements that are geometrical and rigorous, intersecting the main volume.” The intent was to give the pen an element of speed or rhythm, “which is a principle also used when designing our cars.” The design, he says, pays homage to the Daytona SP3, the second auto in the carmaker’s Icona series. Baretzki waxes eloquent about the design, and calls it, “a monolith”.

Nicolas Baretzki

Luxury trends

Talking about Montblanc, Baretzki notes, “We’ve seen an extraordinary resilience of writing instruments in the pandemic.” While there are no studies or empirical evidence, he elaborates, “I suppose, with people being at home, they rediscovered the basic fun of putting pen to paper.”

Crafting functionality

Flavio Manzoni is a trained architect, but now leads the Ferrari Design Centre. He’s gone on record to state that he doesn’t think an SUV can be a supercar and so Ferrari is staying away from ultra-luxury SUVs. That said, the designer, who has worked with Bugatti, Fiat, Škoda and Volkswagen, shared that good design, should, “think about the function and performance.” He elaborates, “So you can always have a rational explanation of each single detail of our product. This is the same for any kind of product we design — for a watch, pen or whatever.”

When it comes to India, Baretzki notes, “Montblanc was, in fact, the first luxury maison to officially import products to India.” Over the years, he stresses, the brand has increased its interactions with customers through boutiques outside of Delhi and MumbaiThe company took over distributorship for the country three years ago, after a five-year association with Titan, which Baretzki classifies as “a planned transition for the company”. The focus now is on upgrading — “elevating the maison, bringing more experiences for customers; we are rethinking how to approach e-commerce in India, in order to reach a larger group of customers”. He notes, “At the end, we have many important collectors in India, so I want to make sure that we can serve them properly.”

The Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3 LE599 will be available at select boutiques in India from August 2023. Price: €27500 (In India, its price is yet to be announced).

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