Ferves Ranger Price Guide

The Ferves Ranger is one of the most delightful vehicles ever produced. It is a tiny Italian off-roader using Fiat 500 mechanicals in an open-bodied four-seat body with optional four-wheel drive that looks like someone left a military Pinzgauer in the tumble dryer. Ferves stands for FERrari VEicoli Speciali – designed by Carlo Ferrari (no relation to Enzo), it was unveiled at the 1966 Turin Motor Show and approximately 600 were built between 1965 and 1970. Perhaps fifty survive worldwide.

The Car

The Ranger used the Fiat 500’s 499cc air-cooled two-cylinder producing 18bhp at the rear, the Fiat 500’s steering and four-speed gearbox, and the Fiat 600D’s independent suspension and brakes; a parts-bin amalgamation that produced something genuinely more than the sum of its components. The open body featured a folding windscreen, removable doors (suicide-hinged on early cars, conventionally hinged later), and vinyl-covered bench seats for four. Available in two-wheel or four-wheel drive, with the 4×4 using a transfer case to send power to the front axle. Maximum speed was approximately 45mph. A Cargo variant deleted the rear seats for a 300kg carrying capacity. All 600 examples were left-hand drive.

Buying

The Ferves Ranger is among the rarest and most charming collectible vehicles available. A two-wheel-drive example sold at RM Sotheby’s for $169,000 — extraordinary for a vehicle with 18bhp. The 4×4 variant is rarer still. Fiat 500 and 600 parts support the mechanical components; Ranger-specific bodywork is essentially unobtainable. Approximately fifty survivors are known worldwide, of which eight are believed to reside in the United States.