I never thought I’d see the day when a little Ferves Ranger would become a rap video car, but here we are. Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised. The Ferves Ranger has star quality.


Tyler and A$ap Rocky put out Potato Salad today, a hang out session in Paris, feeling braggy, happy to chat about their latest that’s-not-a-purse-it’s-a-satchel. There’s a Based God shout-out, which reminds me to link to Night In Japan. But that’s neither here nor there. Stay focused. Ferves Ranger.


Illustration : Jason Torchinsky

Mechanically, it’s a Fiat 500-based jeeplet, with only a couple hundred made from 1966 through 1971, as our own Jason Torchinsky explained a few years back:

The Ferves Ranger is a cousin of the Fiat 500 and 600. It uses a Fiat 500F’s engine (2 cylinder, 499cc, about 22 HP), a Fiat 600's suspension bits, and a custom body/tub designed for off-road use. The company, Ferves, gets its name from Ferrari Veicoli Speciali, and yes, that’s Ferrari Special Vehicles. I guess for Ferrari, this vehicle is pretty “special.” They only made about 600 Rangers, between 1966 and 1971. Early Rangers were 2WD, but they soon added 4WD capability, and, interestingly, a very low-geared differential to allow the car to “walk” slowly through woods or other rough terrain. It seems like a pretty useful and capable little off-roader. But let’s get to just how goddamn cute the thing is. There’s something about the proportions— the big tires, the stubby front and funny little protruding butt that make the whole thing seem like a pit bull puppy or something. It’s got a simple cute face with big round lights, and the fact that it’s designed for rugged work makes it so much cuter. In fact, I think it’s even cuter than the already-cute donor car, the Fiat 500, for this very reason. The small little guy that’s trying so hard to do the big-boy work of a jeep. Holy crap it’s just freaking adorable.﻿



I do think it’s fair to keep on this thing as the “mostest cutest off-roader ever,” just because it is such a charming concentration of American style into European size, purposeful but compact. Now you know. Keep it in your mind.