| All-new V12 Ferrari on show | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 10:46:46 PM by Blog57 Team | | The legendary Italian supercar this morning pulled the wraps off a car that costs about the price of the average Sydney home and has a waiting list longer than a NSW public hospital bed.The breathtakingly beautiful and brutal Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano costs $600,000 and the waiting list is "about two years", according to Kevin Wall, the General Manager for Ferrari importer European Automotive Imports. So what's all the fuss about?The 599 is about the closest thing to an F1 car you can buy. It can go from 0-100kmh in 3.7 seconds and has a top speed of 330kmh.The 599 is faster than an F40 and only fractionally slower than the race-ready Enzo, but Ferrari says that any old hack can feel comfortable behind the wheel.The carmaker says it can be "docile and easy to drive", but deliver "shattering" performance when asked to. Ferrari claims the 599 borrows its electronic chassis control system from Michael Schumacher's Formula One car.The sequential gearbox is also based on the F1 race car and only fractionally slower at shifting gears.You can also option your Ferrari with carbon ceramic brakes for $36,000 - just a little more than the price of a new Holden Commodore.Ferrari's stand also features the all-new Ferrari F430.The F430 has a completely new lightweight 4.3 litre V8 that takes the car from 0-100 in 4secs flat.Ferrari says the car was developed by the same team that is in charge of research and development for the Ferrari F1 car.Its shape was honed in the same wind tunnel and tested on the same test track as the F1 car and Ferrari claims Michael Schumacher even provided feedback as a test driver during its development.The F430 is joined by a Spider version, which has a top speed of 306 kmh and accelerates to 100 kmh in just 4.1 seconds.The Pininfarina-designed Ferrari F612 Scaglietti four door rounds out the line-up on the Ferrari stand.Later in the day, stablemate Maserati pulled the fine silk off the GranSport MC Victory, inspired by the FIA GT Championship leading car.The car carries a number of aerodynamic aids from the competition model, including a carbon fibre front splitter.The GranSport will sell from $272,500, although all five cars allocated to Australia have been spoken for.... | |
| |
| | | Ferrari 599 test-driven. | | Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:45:55 PM by Blog57 Team | | I was fortunate to have been invited for a test drive of this incredible new machine from Maranello.Ferrari has sent several of it's test drivers and several production 599 berlinettas to provide a testing experience to current and prospective clients. Switzerland (6% of total annual Ferrari production.) is probably the first country in Europe to have a public testdrive along with Monaco.The main portion of the test drive was in the mountain roads above Sion (canton of Valais) and the autoroute (highway) between Montreux and Sierre. First, the test driver (an ex-rally pilot) takes the helm and demonstrates the many functions and features of the car as well as it's performance before handing over the controls.The first impression is that of incredible power. Entire rows of 5-6 cars on short straights in the hills were dispatched in barely over a second, reaching incredible speeds in a space of 100 meters.... | |
| |
| | | Largest ever Ferrari collection gathers for Sydney display | | Posted Sunday, August 27, 2006 12:46:16 AM by Blog57 Team | | The largest ever gathering of Ferraris seen in the Southern Hemisphere will take place in Sydney on Sunday 13 August when more than 130 of the legendary Italian supercars come together to help raise money for the Westmead Childrens Hospital in the Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre. Organisers plan to have on display at least one of every Ferrari road car produced since 1960 and there will be a genuine Ferrari Formula One car on display as a representative of Ferraris unique record of success at the pinnacle of motorpsort. Leading the display will be cars described as the greatest super cars of their eras, the Ferrari Daytona, the Ferrari F40 and the Ferrari Enzo, named after the automotive genius who founded Ferrari. Also on display will be latest examples of todays Ferrari range, the F430, F430 Spider and the 612 Scaglietti.... | |
| |
| | | Largest ever Ferrari collection gathers in Sydney | | Posted Friday, August 04, 2006 4:45:56 AM by Blog57 Team | | The largest ever gathering of Ferraris seen in the Southern Hemisphere will take place in Sydney on Sunday 13 August when more than 130 of the legendary Italian supercars come together to help raise money for the Westmead Children's Hospital in the Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre. Organisers plan to have on display at least one of every Ferrari road car produced since 1960 and there will be a genuine Ferrari Formula One car on display as a representative of Ferrari's unique record of success at the pinnacle of motorpsort. Leading the display will be cars described as the greatest super cars of their eras, the Ferrari Daytona, the Ferrari F40 and the Ferrari Enzo, named after the automotive genius who founded Ferrari. Also on display will be latest examples of today's Ferrari range, the F430, F430 Spider and the 612 Scaglietti.... | |
| |
| | | Hacker's Notebook: Ferrari Hits Its Stride | | Posted Wednesday, August 02, 2006 2:45:54 PM by Blog57 Team | | [Big welcomes all around to Nick Hall, international man of letters and reviewer of the world's most potent and storied tractors. This is his first in what we hope to be innumerable Hacker's Notebook columns. And by innumerable, we mean he's being compensated in dollars Kelvin. Thanks, Nick -- ed.] It took about 3.5 seconds to accept the invitation and had my mother's funeral been scheduled for the same day, I would have screamed foul play, demanded a police autopsy and left her above ground to stink up the joint in the summer heat. That's the power of an invitation to Ferrari to drive the new 599 GTB Fiorano. But, really, it shouldn't have that sway. Because Ferraris, historically, have never quite matched the feeling of anticipation. They were like opening an Xbox-shaped present at Christmas, and finding encyclopedias.... | |
| |
| | | Ferrari shares its Goodwood plans | | Posted Wednesday, July 12, 2006 4:46:12 AM by Blog57 Team | | Ferrari is planning to have a formidable presence at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The company's main attraction will be the new 599 GTB Fiorano, which will make its first and only public UK driving display at the speedfest. The Fiorano will be showing everyone what it's made of on the Supercar Run each day of the event, winning many new fans along the way. More than a few attendees will head home after the weekend lusting after Maranello's latest cruise missile on wheels.Goodwood will also see the premiere of a special 612 Scaglietti modified by Wallpaper* magazine's design team. They will make changes to the car inside and out to reflect a synergy of the design languages of both Ferrari and Wallpaper*. At the very least it will be interesting, and more likely, it will be stunning.The Scaglietti will be joined in the Ferrari area by the full range of Ferrari road cars, an FXX, the 2004 Formula 1 car, a number of classic Ferraris and a display showcasing the winners of the global design competition, Ferrari: New Concepts of the Myth.It doesn't say so in the press release, but we checked with Ferrari and got confirmation that the FXX will indeed be making the run up the hill! (Press release after the jump)[Source: Ferrari UK]Press Release:FERRARI 599 GTB FIORANO TO DEBUT AT GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED * First UK drive for 599 GTB Fiorano * Unique 612 Scaglietti Wallpaper* to be unveiled * UK debut for "Ferrari: New Concepts of the Myth" design exhibition30 June 2006 – The car which has been described as 'The F40 for the 21st Century', the all new Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, will make its only UK driving appearance in 2006 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.This 620hp, V12 masterpiece combines the elegance of Ferrari design with the race-developed technology from the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Formula 1 team.... | |
| |
| | | One of Ferrari's static displays at Goodwood will be a 612 Scaglietti personalised by the design team from lifestyle | | Posted Monday, July 10, 2006 10:46:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | Your only chance to see a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in action in this country is little more than a week away. The car described as "the F40 for the 21st century", and powered by the 620bhp six-litre V12 engine first seen in the Enzo supercar, will be taken up Lord March's hillclimb course in the Supercar Run during each day of the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 7-9. One of Ferrari's static displays at Goodwood will be a 612 Scaglietti personalised by the design team from lifestyle magazine Wallpaper*. Also on show - for the only time in the UK - will be some of the leading designs submitted for the Ferrari: New Concepts of the Myth competition. Students from four of the world's leading car design schools will be represented, including Coventry University's School of Art and Design.... | |
| |
| |
|
|
