Pierre Scerri of France has finally finished his 15-year, 20,000-hour labour of love: an exact 1:3 scale model of the Ferrari 312pb. And we mean exact. If Michael Schumacher was accidentally shrunk by a miniaturising machine, he wouldn't even care because he would still be able to drive this car.

Scerri duplicated the Ferrari electronics system in exact miniature, thanks to his background in computer mainframe design. That also helped him build a fully operational fuel injection system, identical to that of the full-size Ferrari.

He had to learn how to make glass so he could reproduce the exact pattern lens for the (working) headlights, and how to make rubber so he could mold his own tires.

The mini-Ferrari has an operating 12-cylinder engine; precisely calibrated rpm, oil pressure, water temperature and oil temperature gauges; hydraulically controlled brakes; and, after six months of tuning, header pipes that make exactly the same distinctive roar as the engine of a full-size Ferrari. The gearbox was the only element of the model Scerri had to outsource due to the specialised equipment involved, so he had it built by Colleti -- who, you guessed it, built the original full-sized 312 gearbox.

(Via BoingBoing.)