Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1184216
F O R D V F E R R A R I | P E R S P E C T I V E 1 2 7 D H office. The requisite well-stocked bar, executive desk with built-in phone, and lush seating area with nickel-plated floating shelves were all provided. A grid of dye-cast models of Ford's greatest automotive successes decorated the shelves, all in a custom pallet of cool grays and steely blues. In the nearby warehouse district, a sprawling industrial space became Ford's River Rouge Assembly Plant, the largest assembly line in the world during the 1960s. Set Designer Rich Romig modeled the set in Rhinoceros, included what would be the visual effects set extension. A corridor of mid-management offices was built onto an existing mezzanine, overlooking three practical assembly lines. Twenty-one Ford Falcons were restored and dressed to portray the various stages of automobile assembly. Extras were trained to install windshields, wheels and body panels, and paint parts in a practical spray booth. The final piece of the Ford puzzle was found at the lustrous Porsche Experience Center in Carson, where a Neutra-esque control building was built on a small hill overlooking the test track. The production also built a period-correct dynamometer lab, where engineers would birth Ford's next generation gigantic V8 engine—surely too big for any Gran Turismo racer. As a counterpoint to Ford, the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy, had to be recreated. Ferrari's famous red-brick gates were replicated in an existing courtyard at the Lanterman facility in Pomona, with Enzo Ferrari's office built with a picture window overlooking a courtyard overflowing with olive trees, palms and lavender. At an Edison Substation in Eagle Rock, Ferrari's racing department told a different story to that of E E. FORD RIVER ROUGE ASSEMBLY PLANT. SET PHOTO. F. A FORD TEST TRACK BUILDING, BUILT IN 3D IN FORMZ BY SET DESIGNER ROB WOODRUFF. G. FORD TEST TRACK OBSERVATION BUILDING. BUILT ON A KNOLL AT THE PORSCHE EXPERIENCE CENTER IN CARSON. SET PHOTO. H. FORD'S PERIOD ACCURATE DYNAMOMETER ROOM (INSPIRED BY RARE ARCHIVAL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY FORD) WAS USED TO TEST ENGINE TORQUE AND ALSO SIMULATE THE FORCES AN ENGINE WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO OVER A 24- HOUR RACE. SET PHOTO. G F