This is a strong contender for the finest car ad of all time.

It's up against some pretty stiff competition, of course - Honda has produced a few epics recently (read the story behind its Impossible Dream masterpiece), and those horrendous middle-aged Vauxhall children probably reckon they're in with a shout.

But this Ferrari-Shell effort is a bit special. Reportedly the most expensive advert of all time - although producer David Stewart of production company Partizan denied this when we talked to him today - it features classic Fezza F1 cars of the past 60 years tearing around the world's capital cities.

From the 1952 F500 to this season's contender, it's a perfect potted history of Maranello racing. Best of all, it's all set to the simple soundtrack of sonorous engine notes. Turn up your speakers.

Watch clip on YouTube

There's no digital trickery at play here, either. Ferrari somehow convinced the powers-that-be in New York, Rio and Hong Kong to close their city streets for the benefit of the 312 and the rest.

"It was a great shoot," said Stewart. "We were able to get permission to film everywhere that we wanted.

"To get the special permits - none of the cars are registered to use on public roads - and the permission from the cities was great."

In case you're wondering, that stunning S-shaped sea-bridge that you see about a minute in is Seacliff Road in Australia, just south of Sydney.

We want one.

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