Before Ferrari was a car company, they were a successful racing team. Enzo Ferrari only got into manufacturing to fund his efforts on the track. This attitude has never left the company, even as sales have climbed from a few hundred cars per year to a few thousand. This racing focus carries over to their production cars, making some of the most focused, capable and driver-focused vehicles on the market. From the FF grand touring car to the exotic La Ferrari, every car they produce offers world-class performance.
There’s nothing worse than buying your dream car and finding out it’s a lemon. How can you protect yourself? You can start by using our site to decode the VIN number. A quick VIN check will tell you how the car came equipped from the factory, letting you weed out cars with obvious listing errors. Once you’ve settled on a few candidates, you can order a VIN report to learn about a car’s history, including accidents and title issues. Spending a few dollars now can save you from a mistake that can cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
How Can Ferrari VIN Number Look Up Help You Avoid Problem Vehicles?
While we’re past the era when people would cut the roof off of a 308 to sell it as a “Magnum P.I.” model, faking vehicle provenance is still profitable. This can range from adding badges from a more desirable model, to doing a full manual transmission swap to raise sale prices. However, it’s all but impossible to fake a VIN. This factory-issued code includes information on the build, including the model, trim and standard equipment. The VIN is placed in several spots on the vehicle, making it hard to modify. If you notice discrepancies between what the seller tells you and the results you get from your decoder, you’ll know you should walk away before you make a costly mistake.
Ferrari places the VIN on several components, but they’re not always in the spots you expect to find them on other cars. Here’s where to look for this number.
Look for a metal plate attached to the steering column. The VIN number is etched or printed on the bottom of this plate. This plate is used on all Ferrari models.
Look at the dashboard from outside the car. You may see a metal plate through the windshield with the VIN printed on it. Racing models do not have this plate.
Check the engine compartment for a metal plate attached to one of the fenders or the firewall.
Open the doors. Look for a metal plate on the side of the door that faces the B pillar.
The VIN number is etched into the engine block. Look for a 17 digit code. Shorter codes are engine serial numbers and model identifiers.
Where to Search for the VIN?
Comprehensive VIN Decoder Guide
The characters that make up the VIN aren’t random. Most of them are specific to vehicle configurations, including the model, engine and date of production. Here’s what you’ll learn when you decode this string of characters.
The first three characters are the World Manufacturer Identifier. All Ferraris aside from a handful of of vehicles sold in the UK use the identifier “ZFF”. These characters represent the country of Italy, the manufacturer Ferrari, and Ferrari’s Maranello assembly plant, in that order.
The fourth character is the engine. The company reassigns these characters every few years for new models. Here are some of the engine codes use on Ferraris built after 2001:
Code
ENGINE
A
F133F
B
F133E
J
F140B
D
F131F
E
F136E
F
F140C
G
F133G
H
F140DA
J
F133H
K
F136ED
L
F136IB with a DCT transmission
M
F136IB with a manual transmission
N
F136FB
R
F140CE
S
F140EB
T
F136IH
U
F140FC
Character 5 is the safety system:
Code
EQUIPMENT
A, B
Front airbags and LATCH for rear seats
C, F
Front airbag and tether anchor on passenger seats
H
Front and side airbags with no passenger airbag on/off switch
J
Front and side airbags, two lower belt anchorages for each rear seat, and no passenger airbag on/off switch
K
Front and side airbags, LATCH mounts and no passenger airbag on/off switch
X
Racing model
LATCH is a mounting system for baby seats. Tether anchors serve the same purpose, but don’t meet LATCH requirements.
Characters 6 and 7 are the model. Here are a few examples:
Code
MODEL
17
Testarossa
43
348 Spider
44
456 GT
49
550 Maranello
50
456 GTA
51
360 Modena
52
550 Barchetta Pininfarina
53
360 Spider
54
612 Scaglietti
55
575 M Maranello
57
Challenge Stradale
58
F430
59
F430 Spider
60
599 GTB Fiorano
64
430 Scuderia
65
California
67
458 Italia
68
458 Spider
69
599 XX
70
599 GTO
71
458 Challenge
73
FF
74
F12 Berlinetta
75
458 Speciale
77
California T
Character 8 is the market. “A” is used on left hand drive North American models, as well as some Middle Eastern cars from 1996 to 2007.
Character 9 is the check digit. It’s chosen using a mathematical formula that uses other characters in the VIN, reducing errors when entering this code into databases.
Character 10 is the model year. This alternates between letters and numbers. Some letters aren’t used to avoid confusion with similar-shaped numbers:
Code
YEAR
1-9
2001 to 2009
A-H
2010-2017
J-N
2018-2022
P
2023
Character 11 is the plant code, which is always “0” for Maranello.
The rest of the VIN is the serial number. Numbers 1-300 are usually reserved for Formula 1 cars.
Ferrari VIN Samples
What can you learn by entering the VIN number for a Ferrari into our website? Here are a few examples:
ZFFKW64A780164470: 2008 430 Scuderia with a 4.3 liter V8
ZFF65LJA7B0180912: 2011 California with a 4.3 liter V8
ZFF60FCAXB0188466: 2011 599 GTB Fiorano with a 6.0 liter V12
2008 FERRARI 612 Scaglietti
VIN ZFFJB54A580161794
Listed for sale on:
11/28/2022
Price:
$149,950
Odometer:
15,508 km
2012 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65LJA8C0183769
Listed for sale on:
09/24/2021
Price:
$114,996
Odometer:
34,816 km
2010 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65LJA1A0169533
Listed for sale on:
11/06/2021
Price:
$114,991
Odometer:
13,433 km
2014 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65TJA6E0197494
Listed for sale on:
08/27/2021
Price:
$149,000
Odometer:
23,643 km
2013 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65TJAXD0191812
Listed for sale on:
11/11/2023
Price:
$0
Odometer:
122,310 km
2011 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65LJA4B0179264
Listed for sale on:
05/26/2023
Price:
$114,999
Odometer:
20,545 km
2013 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65TJA7D0194537
Listed for sale on:
03/19/2021
Price:
$116,995
Odometer:
11,945 km
2010 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65LJA1A0173713
Listed for sale on:
07/12/2020
Price:
$89,800
Odometer:
23,414 km
2012 FERRARI 458 Italia
VIN ZFF67NFA0C0183005
Listed for sale on:
06/30/2018
Price:
$199,458
Odometer:
12,035 km
2012 FERRARI California
VIN ZFF65LJA6C0183771
Listed for sale on:
08/22/2019
Price:
$104,888
Odometer:
33,148 km
2013 FERRARI 458 Italia
VIN ZFF67NFA3D0193058
Listed for sale on:
07/22/2021
Price:
$229,990
Odometer:
11,040 km
2007 FERRARI 599 GTB Fiorano
VIN ZFFFC60AX70153543
Listed for sale on:
12/08/2024
Price:
$152,900
Odometer:
31,020 km
Frequently Asked Questions
Locations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, there are three places you can find the code on most vehicles:
- Look through the windshield at the dashboard. On the driver’s side, you should see a small metal plate with the number stamped into it. - Open the driver’s door. Look at the front and side of the door pillar for an I.D. sticker. It usually has the manufacturer’s logo on it. The code should be on this sticker. - Open the hood. You may see a sticker on the firewall or near the passenger’s side strut tower. Some cars have the number engraved in one of these areas.
Since this number is used to identify the vehicle on official documents, you can also find it on the title, the window sticker, and on insurance policies.
We also decode numbers for RVs, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. If you need to decode an RV number, make sure it’s the one issued by the chassis manufacturer, not the RV outfitter.
No. Canadian and Mexican cars usually use the same format. Other countries use their own formats.
It’s up to the manufacturer to determine what they want to include for some parts of the number. For example, some companies don’t include information about transmissions or trim levels.
Usually, no. A few manufacturers stamp the code into the engine. If the VINs on the engine and car match, then it’s the original engine. On most vehicles, there isn’t anything that ties an engine to a specific vehicle. At most, looking up the vehicle on our website will tell you if a different type of engine was installed. For example, if someone swaps a V8 into a Ford Mustang, our site will tell you it originally came with a V6.
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