1440 x 1440 px | 00:10 min | 5,6 MB
Background: In front of Villa Ansaldi, René Benko once rode a Ferrari lawn mower, its chassis bearing the proud slogan “Vision”. The image recalls a much older story from his youth: at just 17, he was said to drive a Ferrari to school. In truth, the car was leased – borrowed rather than owned – but the impression it left was real. A single gesture of speed and luxury laying the groundwork for SIGNAs myth to unfold.
Own the Story: This emblem holds the ambivalence of Benko’s empire. It was dazzling, fast, and impossible to ignore, yet built on borrowed ground – like the leased Ferrari of his youth. The “Vision” mower in front of Villa Ansaldi is both a parody and a prophecy: The proof of an empire’s shine, but also of its hollowness. To hold this token is to embrace both sides of the story: The brilliance of ambition and the fragility of illusion. For Benko’s empire was indeed real – it rose, it dazzled, it conquered and it fell. Like a lawn mower branded as a supercar, it carried the seeds of collapse within it from the very beginning.