Friday, March 27, 2009

California is a true Ferrari: sold out through 2010


What recession? Ferrari just confirmed that the Ferrari California is officially sold out through 2010. The 179,000 Euro supercoupe/cab is scheduled to be produced in batches of about 2,000 per year and has been a runaway success for the Maranello manufacturer. Company President Luca di Montezemolo was recently quoted as saying, "In 2008 there was the success of the Scuderia. 2009 will be characterized by the California. It has been an incredible success. We have already sold all of the 2008 and 2009 production. You have to now wait until 2011 for one."

Rather than act as a replacement for anything in the current lineup, the California was intended to be an eight-cylinder car that would compliment the F430 and be a vehicle with a lot of flexibility according to Ferrari. While some say it isn't the most beautiful Ferrari they've ever seen, the performance should be pretty spectacular for those lucky souls with a signed contract already in hand. The new direct-injection, 460-hp 4.3L V8 should be more than adequate for propelling this prancing pony down the road with gusto. We'll keep our fingers crossed that someone listening will loan us one for a short stay in the garage so we can confirm our suspicions.

2010 Ferrari FS 599 Fuoristrada SUV


Huh; a Ferrari SUV? We admit, it does sound weird but as the saying goes, “where there’s smoke, there’s a fire”. And if anything else, we’ve been hearing a lot about Ferrari’s intentions to broaden up its line-up with a high-performance SUV. We won’t lie to you and say that we have inside information on the SUV project, but if Porsche did it successfully with the butt ugly Cayenne (and without denting its image), we can’t find a reason to as why Ferrari shouldn’t.

2010 Ferrari Dino "Photoscooped"


We’ve been hearing many rumours lately about a new "entry-level" Ferrari that'll revive the Dino nameplate. Although nothing is official yet, most car magazines are quoting inside sources to corroborate their case. Same goes for the guys at Infomotori as they say that they’ve got new info on the "Dino". As usual, this info is translated into a photoshop, which in this case is the work of Andrea Rosati. The latter combined classic and modern Ferrari elements together to draw up his vision of how the Dino may look like.

Personally, I’m not digging this "Dino thing" as an entry-level Ferrari powered by a V6 engine. If we're talking about a new nameplate for the F430’s successor, that’s another deal, but don’t forget that Ferrari is a part of the Fiat Group which also owns Maserati. If they want a "cheaper" model to hit Porsche's 911, it would be more logical for them to do it with a Maserati and not a Ferrari.

Ferrari Upgrading its official Website with New looks, Virtual Tours and Test Drives


In celebration of the first GP of the 2009 F1 World Championship season that begins this weekend in Melbourne, Australia, Ferrari will go live on Sunday, March 29, with its new 'ferrari.com' website. Visitors to the portal are promised a wide range of content including interactive sections with exclusive images and dedicated sections to GT & Sport cars, Scuderia F1, News, Community and Ferrari Store, plus a new feature, the so-called Maranello Experience.

New Photo Exhibition at the Galleria Ferrari


A new photo exhibition featuring the works of Günther Raupp, the official photographer of Ferrari's calendars, has opened at the Galleria Ferrari in Maranello, Italy. Günther Raupp presented his first calendar on his own initiative in 1984. Enzo Ferrari was so impressed that he contracted the photographer to create the Italian firm's official calendar. Every year the calendar is published and distributed all over the world in a format of 50 X 70 cm.

Geneva Preview: Ferrari's Hardcore 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE and 599XX Study


At next week's Geneva Motor Show Ferrari will reveal two new variants of its 599 GTB Fiorano sportscar. More specifically, the Italian firm will launch a more hardcore version of the two-seater coupe fitted with a new sport kit dubbed Handling GT Evoluzione (HGTE) Package and a technical study called "599XX". Ferrari has not disclosed any details on the 599 HGTE (pictured above) that will be finished in a new three-layer metallic Rosso, but aside from the new alloy wheels and high-performance tires, expect to see a sportier suspension set up and changes to the steering an and braking system.

Ferrari 599XX: New Track-Focused Version with 700HP V12



The Geneva Motor Show saw the world premiere of the Ferrari 599XX, an extreme track-focused version of the Prancing Horse's two-seater GT. Destined to replace the FXX, Ferrari said that it will be organizing a programme of dedicated track events for the 599XX in 2010/2011. Since the car was conceived exclusively for track but not official competition use, Ferrari was not restricted either by homologation limitations or regulatory restrictions during the 599XX's development.

Ferrari 599XX Starting with the powertrain, the firm's engineers carried out extensive work on the V12 engine's combustion chambers and inlet and exhaust tracts. These modifications, combined with the fact that internal attrition has been reduced and the maximum revs have been boosted to a whopping 9,000 rpm, helped achieve the target power output of 700 hp at 9,000 rpm. As for the transmission, a new gearbox shift strategy cuts overall gear-change times to just 60 ms.

The 599's handling has been improved thanks to the adoption of a second generation SCM suspension system while the new racing carbon ceramic braking system promises to deliver shorter braking distances. The track-focused 599XX is equipped with a set of split-rim wheels shod in slick tires.

As you can see in the photos below, the 599XX features a full aerodynamic bodykit that helps produce an amazing 280 kg of downforce at 200 km/h or 125mph (630 kg at 300 km/h or 187mph) according to Ferrari.

And if you're wondering what all these changes sum up to, we'll just tell you that Ferrari claims that the 599XX lapped the Fiorano race track in 1 minute and 17 seconds, or 1 second faster than the Enzo-based FXX.