Sometimes a simple illustration generates more buzz than an actual concept car. That’s exactly what happened to Kar Lee, better known as Kardesign Koncepts on Instagram. By designing a motorcycle Ferrari As believable as a future official production model, the graphic designer eventually caught the attention of Maranello… and, above all, its legal team. A reaction that, according to the designer, had never happened to him before in his nearly twenty-year career.
A Ferrari motorcycle that seemed too real
It all began in 2024 when Kar Lee asked himself a simple question: What if Ferrari finally built a motorcycle? The designer then envisioned the «Ferrari Barracuda,» a sports motorcycle that blends the design elements of a Ducati Panigale V4 with certain stylistic features of the Ferrari SF90, Purosangue or even Amalfi.
The result is spectacular. Red bodywork, aggressive lighting signature, exposed carbon fiber, Prancing Horse badges: everything looks realistic enough to give the impression that this is a genuine in-house Ferrari project. The image spread rapidly on social media, then to specialized websites, Facebook pages, and YouTube channels. On Instagram alone, the post reportedly surpassed 200,000 «Likes,» before reaching more than 350,000 total reactions across various platforms.
When the lawyers from Maranello step in
However, this popularity eventually caught Ferrari’s attention. According to Kar Lee, the company’s legal team felt that the concept used the automaker’s visual identity in a way that was too believable. The designer explained that Ferrari was concerned about «the use of its brand on a concept that seemed credible and official.» In other words, some people might have actually believed that Ferrari was developing a production motorcycle.
The brand did not, therefore, request a change to the design itself, but rather the removal of the Ferrari logos and the original content. Kar Lee ultimately deleted his initial post before reposting images with the famous prancing horse removed. The designer acknowledged that he was disappointed by this decision, though he understood the brand’s position. He even noted that nothing like this had ever happened to him in nearly twenty years of working in the field of virtual automotive design.
Ferrari and Motorcycles: A Complicated History
This isn’t an entirely new topic in Maranello. Enzo Ferrari took an interest in motorcycle racing in the 1930s as part of Scuderia Ferrari before definitively shifting his focus to automobiles. In the 1950s, another motorcycle brand named Ferrari also drew the ire of the Italian automaker, to the point that it was forced to change its name to Fratello Ferrari.
Since then, the Prancing Horse has never produced a production motorcycle—unless you count the unofficial one Ferrari 900 motorcycle. Paradoxically, while Ferrari requested that Kar Lee’s concept be withdrawn, this reaction may be the greatest compliment an independent designer could receive: having created a motorcycle so believable that Maranello felt it necessary to intervene.
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