Price: $300,000 (est.)
Competitors: Aston Martin Rapide, Porsche Panamera 4
Powertrain: 6.3-liter V12, 651-hp, 504 lb-ft; seven-speed, twin-clutch transmission, all-wheel drive
EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 11/18 (est.)
What's New: With a two-door, space-frame aluminum architecture and a 651-hp, 6.3-liter V12, on paper, Ferrari's new FF looks like any other big GT from Maranello. But this car marks a big departure for the Italians.
The first departure is the three-door hatchback body (known as a shooting brake in Europe), which acknowledges similar unofficial specials that have been built for super-wealthy customers over the years; if you wave a big enough check, Ferrari will build you a wagon. In fact the rogue nature of this sleek body shape goes back to the 1962 Drogo/Bizzarrini Ferrari 250 SWB Bread Van Le Mans racer and continues through the style of the Harold Radford Aston Martin DB5 shooting brakes, Lancia's HPE and the Reliant Scimitar GTE. Compared to its 612 Scaglietti predecessor, the new FF is lighter, faster and more economical, but it also has more interior room, which is one of the advantages of the shooting-brake—sorry, hatchback—body.
This 1996 Ferrari F50 sold for $511,676, including buyer's premium, at RM's Automobiles of London auction at Battersea Evolution, London, on October 29, 2008.
By the time the F50 hit the drawing board, the modern supercar had been defined and for the most part perfected. Supercars are showcases of a manufacturer's technological ability in design and in performance. They are cost-no-object exercises, built in editions often limited to the marketing department's ability to sell them.
But let’s leave that aside for a mo’ and go and drive these two examples, warmed and ready for action on the shoreline of Lake Geneva. Our man in Switzerland, Simon Kidston, procured this immaculate 1990 Ferrari F40 Berlinetta, a rare early example with pre-catalyst exhaust and non-adjustable suspension, and just 11,250 miles showing on the clock. I personally am not much taken with the F40’s Pininfarina-styled looks, but there is no denying it has a pugnacious presence.
With that sharply drooping snout and high rear wing it does look like a road-racer, and a quick one. The 2936cc V8 engine, an evolution of the previous 288GTO mill, with the help of two Japanese water-cooled IHI turbochargers, promises 478bhp at 7000rpm. And most of this forced induction plumbing is visible through the rear plastic engine cover. Very boy racer.
The dashing Ferrari FXX is the ultimate race car with high performance and is manufactured in Maranello in Italy. The sole purpose of this car is to burn the roads and the race tracks. You can buy this car only if you have the heart to do it and of course the pockets too. But Ferrari does it again with the Ferrari FXX.
We know that Ferrari can do extreme, passionately focused and engaging, but can it do novel, versatile and cosseting? Perhaps more pertinently, should it? The California takes Ferrari into new territory, into a region of the market that is defined by the cars already in residence. There are expectations, then, and the California is equipped to meet them, but can it nail the demands of the class and still be unmistakably a Ferrari?
It’s a question that seems to bother Ferrari itself. A predictably confident press conference detailed the key features of the car, namely a torque-biased evolution of the F430’s 4.3-litre V8 with gasoline direct injection (GDI), a new DSG-style seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, a folding metal hardtop and a new suspension design developed with ride comfort in mind. These are all firsts for Ferrari, and I detected a faint whiff of anxiety in the ranks.
The warm sun is gently baking my brow, the air- flow is barely ruffling my hair and photographer Kenny P and I are enjoying the sound of the Ferrari F430 Spider's 32-valve, eight cylinder hi-fi. It sounds like a leisurely moment encapsulating the appeal of open-top motoring but right now the F430 is hauling hard at over 150mph.
I'm impressed at how utterly stable and composed the F430 is and amazed at the calmness of the air in the cockpit. Conversation would be possible if the V8 behind us wasn't howling full bore, sending the needles of the speedo and rev counter ever further round their dials.
Ferrari F430 is specially designed and built for all those customers who want to experience phenomenal driving performance. Due to its latest styling, it has huge demand. This ultimate sports car is specially owned by speed fanatics. It can easily achieve record timing on racing tracks. It offers powerful performance and for speed freak, this Ferrari model is one of the perfect choices.
Its high quality spare parts are the highlights of this model and all these parts are responsible for its smooth and safe ride. This model is like the combination of latest technology and new design. Some buyers are fascinated with its handling as well as with its safety. On the other hand, some customers are impressed with its ride performance.
Ferrari’s exclusive new 8-cylinder, the 458 Spider has finally been unveiled to the public at the 64th Frankfurt International Motor Show.
The latest addition to the Ferrari range is a mid-rear-engined two-seater featuring a fully retractable aluminium hard-top, a world first for a sports car with this layout.
The 458 Spider’s innovative new hard-top is not only 25 kg lighter than a traditional folding soft-top, but is also quieter and thermally more efficient when raised. Aside from taking just 14 seconds to open or close, the hard-top was engineered to occupy a very small space when stored so that the designers were able to include a generous rear bench for luggage behind the two seats.
Ferarri's new lust-worthy 562-hp supercar hits 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. It's indisputably attractive, but it is also derivative, as though it had been concocted from the best parts of previous great Ferrari designs. Let's see what it can do on real roads.
The Specs
Ferrari's early cars were dominated by V12 engines. But the Italian sports car maker inherited its first V8 from Lancia in 1955, and its mid-engined V8 sport coupes have been the backbone of the company's model range for the last 35 years. Strictly speaking, the first road-going production-V8 Ferrari was the wedge-shaped, Bertone-designed Dino GT4 of 1973. The most recognizable was of course the Pininfarina-designed 308 launched at the 1975 Paris Motor Salon--a car that starred quite prominently in the hit TV series Magnum PI.
The Ferrari Enzo model was produced in the year 2002 using Formula One Technology and Like the Formula One sports car, this Ferrari model also has electrohydraulic shift F1 – style transmission, fiber – reinforced carbon silicon ceramic carbide composite disc brakes, and carbon – fiber body.
The Ferrari F50 is the predecessor and the Ferrari 599 GTO is the successor of this range. It comes under the category of racing and sports car and has 2 – seat Berlinetta body style. It has RMR layout and this Enzo model was designed by famous Ken Okuyama at Pininfarina. Due to its minimum maintenance rate, owners can keep their model in a perfect condition for maximum duration by offering regular servicing.
For enhancing its driving capabilities, it has a 6.0 – liter DOHC 48 – valves V12 engine which is able to pump out more than 660 hp of maximum energy at 7,800 rpm and 485 lb – ft of torque at 5,500 rpm. As per the fuel EPA economy, it achieves 7 mpg on city roads and 12 mpg on highways.
