The Jannarelly Aella 60 Takes A Ferrari 360 Modena To New Heights

Restomodding has come a long way over the past decade or so, and the number of projects announced over the course of a year is impressive. From Singer making a huge impact with over-the-top detailed Porsche 911s to classic Jaguars, Alfa Romeo’s and Lancia’s, to mind-blowing new interpretations of the Diablo and everything in between. It seems nothing is sacred, and when done right, the result can be astonishing! The latest to join in on the excitement of preserving a (future) classic is Art Machines by Anthony Jannarelly. But in all fairness, the Jannarelly Aella 60 goes a bit further than a little nip-and-tuck and should be considered as something “Beyond Restomod” as they say for themselves. 

What defines a restomod is essentially preserving and enhancing a classic car to beyond-new conditions. It can be applied to any car, really, and is an extension of car-modding culture in general. Tons of people install modifications to their proud four-wheeled steeds, but a restomod comes down to a bit more than new wheels, sports bumpers and a rear wing from a catalogue. It often includes bespoke and high-end materials both outside and in, advanced suspension and engine upgrades, and modern amenities such as a paddle-shift gearbox, wireless connectivity and so on, in vehicles that originally had none of that. Think full carbon body panels, ceramic-coated exhausts, carbon-ceramic brakes and so on. But what is essential though, is to uphold the core styling essentials of the original. So in that sense, I get what Art Machines is saying about going “beyond restomod” with the Aella 60!

Anthon Jannarelly, and the founding of art machines

Anthony Jannarelly, a car designer by trade, is the founder and CEO of Art Machines by Anthony Jannarelly, as well as Jannarelly Automotive. Following his Master of Art in Automotive Design degree at the University of Coventry, he’s worked on several rather interesting projects, marking out a path that would lead him to designing and building cars under his own name. In his role as Design Director for W Motors, the first Middle Eastern high-performance car manufacturer, he penned both the Lykan Hypersport (as seen below in a clip from Fast & Furious 7) and the Fenyr Supersport. He’s also worked for Italdesign, Ruf and more recently Caterham, where he designed the Project V electric sports car.

To say Jannarelly’s passion for cars runs deep would be an understatement, as he launched Jannarelly Automotive in 2016. With this company, he set out to create a modern interpretation of a sports car from the 1950s and 1960s. The result is the Design-1, a compact sports car with swooping lines, an analogue driving sensation and tons of customisation options. The first production-ready car was delivered in 2017, and is made to order following your bespoke demands in any of three body styles; Coupe, Roadster or Aero (a speedster-like design with only minimal protection from the elements. Power comes from a Nissan-sourced 3.5-litre V6 with plenty of oomph, to deal with the lightweight carbon fibre Design-1. The biggest issue with the Design-1 however, was the financial viability of getting it homologated for global markets. The solution to that proves to be the Jannarelly Aella 60, presented under the label of Art Machines by Anthony Jannarelly.

The Jannarelly Aella 60

It might not look like it from the outside, but the foundation of the stunning Aella 60 is an Italian thoroughbred sports car, the Ferrari 360 Modena. Not too long ago it seemed like such brands and cars were a no-go for full-on modification or even restomoding, but times have most definitely changed. The 360 Modena is an important chapter in Ferrari’s long line of mid-engine 2-seater V8 sports cars, and it can be traced back to the 308 GTB. If you’re a bit open-minded about it, you could even say it goes back further than that, but then you’re stepping into V6 Dino territory.

What Jannarelly has done to the 360 Modena though, is quite special and harkens back to the early days of car manufacturing. If you wanted a luxurious or sports car back in the early 1900s, you bought a chassis and engine from one company and took it to another to fit it with a body and interior. That was common practice for decades, and that coachbuilding spirit has very been on the rise similar to restomodding. You use something that is already homologated, bypassing tricky time-consuming regulations for various markets, and fit a new exterior and interior of your own design!

With the Aella 60, the company aims to achieve an analogue driving experience like no other. Part of that is down to the chassis and engine combination, which is the 360 Modena’s 3.6-litre naturally aspirated V8 bolted to an aluminium undercarriage. It has got a bit more power though, as the output is upped from the standard 400 horsepower to 480 instead. Combined with a kerb weight of 1,130 kilos, the Aella 60 makes short work of the ever-important stop-light sprint! Shifting is done through a manual six-speed gearbox also taken from the 360 Modena. If you’re fast enough through the gears, you should be able to hit 100kph in about 3,5 seconds, which is about a second-and-a-half faster than the Ferrari did in its original guise. There’s no word on top speed, but it’s fair to assume it will be in excess of 300kph.

Now, it must be said that the most eye-catching thing about the Aella 60 is its styling of course. Made mostly from lightweight materials such as carbon fibre, it takes inspiration from sports cars and GT cars from the 1950s and 1960s. With a bit of imagination, you can see ponton-style fenders of a Ferrari 250 Testarossa for instance, or the rear section of the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale. The lines flow up and over the front and rear wheels, wrap around the driver and passenger compartment and end in a stylish ducktail-like spoiler with a diffuser to stick it down to the ground at speeds. It’s a very coherent mix of retro styling cues and contemporary design elements, giving the Aella 60 a unique profile and shape. And for added drama, you get butterfly doors like on a McLaren F1 or a Ferrari F80!

On the inside, it’s more of this almost obsessive attention to detail. The whole interior is clad in high-end materials such as leather, Alcantara and carbon fibre. It also comes with a bespoke instrument cluster and centre controls, and a beautifully openworked mechanism for the gear lever. Two leather-wrapped carbon bucket seats keep you firm in place when you hammer it up some twisty mountain road in a symphony of intake and exhaust noise! Oh, and one thing I think is absolutely brilliant, and befits the whole analogue theme of the car; there’s no touchscreen in sight!

The final thing that needs to be said about Anthony Jannarelly’s captivating Aella 60 is its availability, or rather exclusivity. Only 60 will be made, with the first 5 granting their owners Founding Member status. What this means is the first five clients will be actively involved in the final development stages before the serial production gets underway. Just know that regardless of the status, each Aella 60 client is willing to wait until 2026 to take delivery at the earliest and has spent at least EUR 865,000 excluding VAT on it!

For more information, please visit ArtMachines.fr.

Editorial Note: The information used and images portrayed in this article are sourced from and used with permission of Art Machines by Anthony Jannarelly unless stated otherwise.