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A one-off Ferrari Mondial T built as a PPG pace car for CART has resurfaced as part of The Caretakers Collection. The collection says Ferrari spent $1 million on the 1987 project; a 2025 Forza article says the car paced races from 1988 to 1991, though reportedly with reliability problems.
A one-off Ferrari Mondial T pace car, commissioned for the CART Indy Car World Series in the late 1980s, has resurfaced as part of The Caretakers Collection. In a video about the car, the collection says Ferrari spent $1 million in 1987 converting the production-based model into a specially designed pace car, a project that stands apart from the company’s usual focus on Formula 1.
The car began as a Ferrari Mondial T and was transformed for PPG, then sponsor of CART. The collection’s video describes a heavily reworked body, including a stretched wheelbase, streamlined front and rear sections and corrugated trim connecting them. Safety lights were integrated into the bodywork, including clear sections around the engine cover. The interior was also revised, with Kevlar and suede, a new steering wheel and a dashboard that grouped more controls and instruments around the driver.
The Mondial T’s factory 3.4-liter V8 produced 300 horsepower, according to The Drive’s report. Ferrari estimated a 0-to-62-mph time of 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 158 mph for the production model. The Drive says chassis changes were likely made to support the sustained high speeds required of a pace car; it does not provide a confirmed specification for those modifications.
A 2025 Forza magazine article, cited by The Drive, says the Ferrari was in active service from 1988 through 1991 and was not very reliable. The car is now housed in The Caretakers Collection, which also includes unusual vehicles such as a Tucker sedan and a GM Futureliner. The available reports do not detail when the collection acquired the Ferrari or how it was found.
A Rare Ferrari Outside Formula 1
The car’s return to view draws attention to a little-known intersection of Ferrari and American open-wheel racing. Ferrari had ended a CART program roughly a year before the pace car appeared, according to The Drive, making the project an unusual connection between the marque and the series. The car was not a race entry, but it was built specifically to lead the CART field.
Its reported $1 million build cost in 1987—which The Drive equates to about $3 million today—also makes it a striking example of how far PPG’s pace-car program went beyond applying a sponsor livery to a standard model. The custom body and cabin make this a distinct historical vehicle, rather than simply a Mondial with race-series graphics.
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How PPG Commissioned the Ferrari
PPG sponsored CART during a period when the series commissioned bespoke pace cars, rather than relying only on lightly modified production vehicles. The Drive reports that a number of these one-offs were later crushed or disappeared from public view. The Ferrari was unveiled at Laguna Seca in October 1987, according to the report.
The design was not by Pininfarina, which handled styling for Ferrari’s production cars at the time. Instead, the project was designed by I.DE.A., a Turin-based firm that had previously worked with Ferrari parent company Fiat. The collection’s video presents the car as an especially unusual survivor from the PPG program.
“Ferrari spent $1 million in 1987 turning a production Mondial into a pace car.”
— The Caretakers Collection, in its video about the car
Gaps in the Car’s Record
Some details remain unconfirmed in the available reporting. The Drive says chassis modifications were likely made for pace-car duties, but it does not identify the changes or cite technical records confirming them. The reports also do not establish the car’s precise ownership history, the date it entered The Caretakers Collection, or whether its current condition allows it to be driven.
The reported reliability problems are attributed to the 2025 Forza article through The Drive; no repair records or detailed account of those issues are provided. The stated $1 million cost comes from the collection’s video, and the available source material does not offer invoices or a separate accounting of the project.
Collection Video Offers a Closer Look
The immediate next step for readers is the Caretakers Collection video, which discusses the car and shows its design. No auction, sale, public exhibition or restoration announcement is identified in the available reports. Until the collection or another source releases more documentation, the vehicle’s ownership timeline, technical modifications and future plans remain open questions.
Key Questions
What is the Ferrari pace car?
It is a one-off Ferrari Mondial T converted for PPG’s CART pace-car program in the late 1980s.
How much did the project cost?
The Caretakers Collection says Ferrari spent $1 million in 1987. The Drive estimates that would be about $3 million in today’s money.
When did the Ferrari pace CART races?
A 2025 Forza magazine article, cited by The Drive, says the car was in active service from 1988 to 1991.
Who designed the one-off car?
The Drive reports that the design came from I.DE.A., a Turin-based design firm, rather than Pininfarina, which styled Ferrari’s production cars at the time.
Where is the car now?
The Ferrari is part of The Caretakers Collection. The available reports do not say when the collection acquired it or describe plans for its display or sale.
Source: thedrive.com
