Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
June 28th, 2008
Tipo F133F 6.0 L (5999 cc) V12 engine produces a maximum 620 CV (620 hp/456 kW/611 bhp), making it the most-powerful series production Ferrari road car. Its 608 N·m (448 ft·lbf) of torque will also be a high for Ferrari's GT cars. Most of the modifications to the engine were done to allow it to fit in the Fiorano's engine bay (the original Enzo version could be taller since the mid-mounted position allowed it to be so). The company claims a top speed in excess of 330 km/h (205 mph), 3.7 second sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph), and 11.0 to 200 km/h (124 mph).
A traditional 6-speed manual transmission as well as Ferrari's 6-speed sequential manual gearbox called 'F1 SuperFast' is offered. The e-diff active differential from the F430 is not used. However, the Manettino concept first seen in the F430 also appears in this car. Ferrari sourced the Delphi Corporation's MagneRide semi-active magneto rheological dampers. Reviewers of the car have mentioned that the MagneRide suspension gives the 599 a very comfortable ride but allows it to handle well at the same time.
The Fiorano also sees the debut of Ferrari's new traction control system, called F1-Trac. Reportedly tuned using inputs from 7-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, the system supposedly allows a competent driver to lap the Fiorano test track at just 1 second behind Michael's time.
The first publicly recorded crash of a 599 GTB occurred when Car and Driver writer Aaron Robinson crashed one into the retaining wall of the Passo della Cisa in Italy, a few meters from a monument to Enzo Ferrari (for his finishing fourth in a 1919 hill climb on that same road). The car suffered only minor damage to the front right fender, and Robinson and photographer Mike Valente were able to drive it back to the factory.
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has also crashed his 599 GTB in November 2007.
To market the 599 GTB in the Americas, Ferrari embarked on a 20,000-mile (32,000 km) trek from Brazil to New York in two cars. The two cars drove through 16 countries and had minimal (mainly suspension) changes made to the mechanicals.
Evo Magazine named the 599 GTB as the Car of the Year for 2006 despite strong competition from rivals Porsche and Lamborghini and other high-performance cars. The Stuttgart marque has been an evo Car of the Year favorite winning in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, and 2004. Even with the release of the brilliant 911 Turbo (997), it was denied from the list because the 911 GT3 (997) was considered more impressive. Notably, previous GT3s have won the eCOTY in '99 and '03, making the current car a fierce contender for the title. The Porsche came in second with 94.8 points just behind the 599 with 95.4 points. Lamborghini came in third with the redesigned and more powerful Murciélago LP640 garnering 93.4 points. The three supercar marques were clear front-runners with a wide gap ahead of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (89.6), Lotus Elise S (89.3), Jaguar XKR (87.0), Renaultsport Mégane (86.2), Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG (85.4) and Aston Martin DB9 Sports Pack (84.4).
Top Gear Magazine also named the 599 GTB as the Supercar of the Year 2006. However, the Jaguar XK was named overall Car of the Year chosen from the winners of several categories.
Although Ferrari estimated a 0–60 mph time of 3.7 seconds, tests have achieved a better time. During a track test, Evo Magazine achieved a time of 3.5 seconds and lapped the Bedford Autodrome in 1.23.10, making it faster than the Ascari KZ1, the Porsche 997 Turbo and 996 GT3 RS, Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo '04, and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. However, it was still slower than the Gallardo SE ('06) and three other hypercars. Motor Trend timed an even better 0–60 mph time of 3.2 seconds with a Ferrari test driver.
Road & Track also timed the 0–60 mph time at 3.2 seconds in a road test which appeared in the May 2007 issue.
Autocar UK had a comprehensive 599 GTB review which appeared in the May 16, 2007 issue.
The 599 GTB is also the first Ferrari ever to come with an iPod connection as standard.
The 599 GTB manufacturing process and the Maranello plant were featured on National Geographic Channel's series Ultimate Factories in 2006.
Ferrari has made another marvelous car. The success of this beauty is beyond any doubt.
Ferrari 360
April 17th, 2008
There are quite a few version of the Ferrari 360. First we will look at the cars, which were produced for city roads :
1. Ferrari 360 Modena, a fixed roof two-door luxury sports coupe, available with a 6-speed manual or F1 electrohydraulic shift;
2. Ferrari 360 Spider, a convertible variant of the Modena;
3. Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, an F1 electrohydraulic shift 360 Challenge inspired variant of a 360 Modena.
And, here are those, which were made for racing :
4. Ferrari 360 Challenge, a 360 F1 electrohydraulic shift stripped out circuit racing variant of the 360 Modena.
5. Ferrari 360 GT, a GT racing variant of the 360 challenge race cars, more extreme than a Challenge.
6. Ferrari 360 GT-C, based on the 360 GT with 360 CS parts to compete in the N-GT class.
7. Ferrari 360 Barchetta, a one-off wedding present from Ferrari to Ferrari's president.
The first model of the 360 to ship was the 360 Modena, named after the town of Modena, the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari. Its six-speed gearbox is available as a manual or F1 electrohydraulic shift. The car went into production in 1999 and remained in production until 2005 when it was replaced by the F430. The Modena was followed by the 360 Spider, Ferrari's 20th road-going convertible. Other than weight, the Spider's specifications match those of the Modena almost exactly.
The 360 Challenge Stradale (or 360 CS) was a later addition to the road line. It was essentially a lightened version of the Modena, dropping 110 kilograms. Changes included larger 19" BBS wheels, the use of carbon fiber for the frames of the seats and mirrors, titanium springs which were also 20% stiffer, and carbon ceramic brake disks. A variety of option allowed for further weight reductions, including replacing the leather interior with fabric, removal of the power windows and mirrors, and leaving off the stereo. Lexan side windows were available in Europe only. It was officially introduced in March of 2003 at the Geneva International Motor Show and went into production shortly thereafter. The 360 CS can be compared to Porsche's GT3 RS model in design approach and many magazines have placed them head to head in road tests. Jeremy Clarkson compared the two and chose the 360 CS to be his favorite.
The 360 Spider is Ferrari's twentieth roadgoing convertible. The model was regarded a classic even when launched in 2000. Designer Pininfarinas lines are by many regarded as timelessly beautiful and yet sportingly aggressive.
The engineers worked hard from the start of the 360 project to lay the foundation for a Spider with exceptional torsional and flexional rigidity. They had to strengthen the sills, stiffen the front of the floorpan and redesign the windscreen frame. The rear bulkhead had to be stiffened to cut out engine noise from the cabin. The convertible's necessary dynamic rigidity is provided by additional side reinforcements and a cross brace in front of the engine. Passenger safety is ensured by a strengthened windscreen frame and roll bars.
The 360 Spider displays a curvilinear waistline. The fairings imply the start of a roof, and stable roll bars are embedded in these elevations. Due to use of light aluminium constructions throughout, the Spider weighs in with only 60 kg (130 lbs) more than the coupé.
With its hood up, the Ferrari 360 Spider looks extremely aggressive. Lowering the hood totally transforms the look. Seen from the side, the 360 Spider resembles a sports racer, a sensation underlined by the length of the rear engine bay, the twin roll bars, the rear fairings and the steep windscreen.
As with the Modena version, its 3.6 litre V8 with 400 bhp is on display under a glass hood. The engine - confined in space by the convertible's top's storage area - acquires additional air supply through especially large side grills. The intake manifolds, with the classical Ferrari covers, cuddle up to each other between the air supply conduits in the Spider engine compartment, as opposed to lying apart as with the Mondena.
Despite the car's mid-mounted V8 engine Ferrari's engineers found a way of creating a hood that automatically folds away inside the engine bay, thus ensuring purity of line. The top canopy of crease free material comes in black, blue, grey and beige. The striptease from a closed top to an open-air convertible is a two-stage folding-action that has been dubbed "a stunning 20 second mechanical symphony". After a short to and fro, the entire top disappears into a closed storage area between the seating and the engine.
The interior of the Spider is identical to the coupé.
The Challenge Stradale is the hard-core, race-focused version of the Modena. With a modified 3.6-litre V8 motor from the Modena, the Challenge Stradale accelerates from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in just 4.2 seconds.
In total, the CS is 110 kg (243 lbs) lighter than the ordinary Modena. 94 kilos (207 lbs) was taken off on the aluminium bodywork and by stripping the interior. The engine and transmission was slimmed down 11 kg (24 lbs).
The common difference between a Challenge Stradale and the base Modena is by the larger 19" BBS wheels on the CS, and carbon-fibre side mirrors. Other noticeable differences include an updated front bumper, lower ride height, and a black mesh grille at the rear end of the car, with the unique Challenge Stradale badge.
The car also has unique bucket seats which are noticeable from the outside.
The 360 was well-received but some people found the new Pininfarina styling as too radical compared to the F355 it replaced.
Handling was described by some journalists as tricky on the limit, similar to its predecessor (the 355) while conflictingly others such as the well known Tiff Needell (from BBC's Top Gear, now Fifth Gear) loved the handling. In Tiff's review of the car for BBC's first review on Top Gear he was gushing about how well the car handled at the limit and how progressive the car behaved after driving the car on the track.
Much later on in the new format series of BBC's Top Gear TV program, the F360 was lambasted on various occasions, mostly for its propensity to spin when at the limit of traction. James May quipped jokingly, "Actually, this is why it's called the F360, this model. You drive along, come to a corner, and you go 'FFFFFFF' as you do a 360!".
Without a doubt, this car has something to show and still, after Ferrari stopped producing this wonderful peace of art, it is very popular.
Ferrari F430
February 19th, 2008
The F430's chassis is heavily based on its predecessor, the 360. Internally, both cars are referred to with the same model number (F131), though the F430 has the Evoluzione tag attached to show that it features some major changes. Internally, the car is simply known as the "Evo".
The MSRP for a Ferrari F430 is between $168,005 - $227,000 in the United States. The F430 is sold starting at about £120,000 in the United Kingdom, approximately €175,000 in the European Union and $389,000 for the base model to $450,000 for the Spider F1 Sequential in Australia.
Design
The body has been redesigned to be more curvaceous and aerodynamic. Although the drag coefficient remains the same, downforce has been greatly enhanced. A great deal of Ferrari heritage is found in the car: at the rear, the Enzo's tail lights and interior vents have been added. The car's name has been etched into the Testarossa-styled driver's side mirror. The large oval openings in the front bumper are reminiscent of Ferrari racing models from the 60s, specifically the 156 "sharknose" Formula One car and 250 TR61 Le Mans cars of Phil Hill.
Engine
Along with a restyled body, the F430 features a 4.3 L V8 petrol engine derived from a shared Ferrari/Maserati design. This new powerplant is a significant departure for the F430's line: The engines of all previous V8 Ferraris were descendants of the Dino racing program of the 1950s. This fifty year development cycle comes to an end with the entirely new 4.3 L, the architecture of which is expected to replace the Dino-derived V12 in most other Ferrari cars. The engine's output specifications are: 360.4 kW (483 hp) at 8500 rpm and 465 N·m (343 ft·lbf) of torque at 5250 rpm.
Brakes
The brakes on the F430 were designed in close collaboration with Brembo. The result has been a new cast-iron alloy for the discs. The new alloy includes molybdenum which has better heat dissipation performance. Another option Ferrari is providing are carbon-ceramic discs. Ceramics have much higher resistance to heat and brake fade than metals, the F430's brakes offer not only good performance but also a longer lifespan. Ferrari claims the brakes will not fade even after 300-350 laps at their test track.
Features
The F430 includes the E-Diff, a computer-controlled limited slip differential which can vary the distribution of torque based on inputs such as steering angle and lateral acceleration.
Other notable features include the first application of Ferrari's manettino steering wheel-mounted control knob. Drivers can select from five different settings which modify the vehicle's ESP system, "Skyhook" electronic suspension, transmission behavior, throttle response, and E-Diff. The feature is similar to Land Rover's "Terrain Response" system.
The Ferrari F430 was also released with exclusive Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 EMT tires. "A car with such performance needs to be equipped with the best tires on the market," said Jean Jacques Wiroth, European director of Original Equipment Sales and Marketing for Goodyear tires, adding "we are proud that Ferrari chose the Goodyear Eagle F1 with run-flat technology." The Eagle F1 GSD3 has a striking V-shaped tread design and OneTRED technology.
Performance
Car and Driver magazine found the car's performance worthy of the Ferrari heritage, and recorded a 3.5 sec 0-60 mph acceleration run in the F430 This makes it the third-quickest Ferrari road car ever made, after the Enzo and the 599 GTB. That being said, the 3.5 second 0-60 run was made on a European spec car, which has launch control, a feature designed to help launch the car from a standing start at high RPMs. Much like the E-Diff and the manettino, the launch control is a technology borrowed from Ferrari's Formula 1 racing program. The launch control is unavailable in U.S.-spec F430s, presumably due to liability issues.
On the BBC Top Gear TV show, shown on the 17 July 2005, The Stig achieved a Power Lap time of 1:22.9. While the laptime was 0.9 seconds less than a Lamborghini Murciélago, the F430 was slower than the 360 Challenge Stradale at 1:22.3. The slower lap was blamed on the F430's Bridgestone tires supposedly having less grip than the Challenge Stradale's Pirellis.
Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson has commented on the F430's handling being absolutely brilliant, a marked improvement over the 360; he claimed that Ferrari holds that "even the most butter-fingered, incapable driver could drive the F430 around their test track only one second slower than the most skilled test driver". He has in fact proclaimed, on more than one occasion, that the Ferrari F430 is "just about the best car I've ever driven", a status he previously attributed to the F355 (but never the 360). The car develops about 300 kgf (2.9 kN) of downforce at top speed (without rear wing).
Ferrari f40
February 3rd, 2008
The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine sports car that was produced by Ferrari from 1987 to 1992 as the successor to the 288 GTO, with which it shared some parts. During its production run, the F40 was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful and most expensive vehicle and it remains one of the highest performing street legal vehicles ever produced.
The F40 was in the most literal sense designed as the successor to the company's GTO supercar, but the project's meaning ran deeper. At ninety years old, Enzo Ferrari was keenly aware that his life was coming to an end, and was somewhat disappointed that Ferrari's dominance in international motorsport had faded somewhat over the years. As a result, Enzo wanted a new pet project put into the pipelines, something that could remind the world of the company's capabilities as a manufacturer as well as provide both a competitor to the Porsche 959 and come to be his masterpiece; the company's impending 40th anniversary provided just the right occasion for the car to debut. The plan was simple: create a vehicle that combined the company's best technologies into a no-frills sports car that would come as close as possible to being a full fledged race vehicle while still retaining the necessary equipment to be a street-legal product. It was the last car to be commissioned by Enzo himself before his death.
It was intended that there were to be 400 F40s made, all painted red.
The F40 was designed with aerodynamics in mind, and is very much a creation of its time. For speed the car relied more on its power than its shape. Frontal area was reduced, and airflow greatly smoothed, but stability rather than terminal velocity was a primary concern. So too was cooling as the forced induction engine generated a great deal of heat. In consequence, the car was somewhat like an open-wheel racing car with a body. It had a partial undertray to smooth airflow beneath the radiator, front section, and the cabin, and a second one with diffusers behind the motor, but the engine bay was not sealed. Nonetheless, the F40 had an impressively low Cd of 0.34 with lift controlled by its spoilers and wing.
Power came from an enlarged, 2.9 L (2936 cc) version of the GTO's twin IHI turbocharged V8 developing 478 PS (356 kW/471 hp) under 110 kPa (16 psi) of boost. The suspension setup, like the GTO's, remained a double wishbone setup, though many parts were upgraded and settings were changed; the unusually low ground clearance prompted Ferrari to include the ability to raise the vehicle's ground clearance when necessary.
The body was an entirely new design by Pininfarina featuring panels made of kevlar, carbon fiber, and aluminum for strength and low weight, and intense aerodynamic testing was employed. Weight was further minimized through the use of a plastic windshield and windows and no carpets, sound system or door handles were installed although the cars did have air conditioning. Early cars had fixed windows, although newer windows that could be rolled down were installed into later cars and the F40 did without a catalytic converter until 1990 when US regulations made them a requirement for emissions control reasons.
As early as 1984, the Maranello factory had begun development of an evolution model of the 288 GTO intended to compete against the 959 in FIA Group B. However, when the FIA brought an end to the Group B category for the 1986 season, Enzo was left with five 288 GTO Evoluzione development cars, and no series in which to campaign them. Enzo's desire to leave a legacy in his final supercar allowed the Evoluzione program to be further developed to produce a car exclusively for road use.
The factory never intended to race the F40, but the car saw competition as early as 1989 when it debuted in the Laguna Seca round of the IMSA, appearing in the GTO category, with a LM evolution model driven by Jean Alesi, finishing third to the two faster spaceframed four wheel drive Audi 90 and beating a host of other factory backed spaceframe specials that dominated the races. Despite lack of factory backing, the car would soon have another successful season there under a host of guest drivers such as Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Jacques Laffite and Hurley Haywood taking a total of three second places and one third.
Although the F40 would not return to IMSA for the following season, it would later be a popular choice by privateers to compete in numerous domestic GT series including JGTC. In 1994, the car made its debut in international competitions, with one cars campaigned in the BPR Global GT Series by Strandell, winning at the 4 Hours of Vallelunga. In 1995, the number of F40s climbed to four, developed independently by Pilot-Aldix Racing (F40 LM) and Strandell (F40 GTE, racing under the Ferrari Club Italia banner), winning the 4 Hours of Anderstorp. No longer competitive against the McLaren F1 GTR, the Ferrari F40 returned for another year in 1996, managing to repeat the previous year's Anderstorp win, and from then on it was no longer seen in GT racing.
The F40 was discontinued in 1992 and in 1995 was succeeded by the F50, which until a newer generation of factory backed GT1 cars that came along, remained competitive.
The car debuted with a factory MSRP of around $400,000, although some buyers were reported as paying as much as $1.6 million for their F40 in the early '90s supercar boom. Today, prices usually hover around the $300,000 mark to $450,000 for cleaner examples. The resale value is lower than that of other Ferrari supercars because of the large production numbers of the F40. 1315 cars were produced. As a result of that and being made available to anybody, many bought the car purely as an investment at the time. As a result of this, and to enhance the exclusive image of the brand, Ferrari only invited loyal customers to buy their latest flagship supercar, the Enzo.
Ferrari Enzo - the living legend
December 22nd, 2007
The Enzo Ferrari is a 12-cylinder Ferrari super car named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It is currently the most powerful car in the world. It was built in 2003 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fibre body, F1-style sequential shift transmission, and carbon-ceramic brake discs. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics. After a down force of 775 kg (1709 lb) is reached at 300 km/h (186 mph) the rear wing is actuated by computer to maintain that down force.
Enzo was announced in 2002 at the Paris Motor Show in a limited edition of only 349 units and with the price up 640 thousand dollars! Of course, all of those cars were sold straight away, and due to that fact Ferrari made 50 more cars, making it total of 399.
One more car was made and sold in 2005 at the Sotheby's, to benefit survivors of the 2004 Tsunami in Asia. The price was 1,274,229 dollars, almost twice as expensive.
So, without a doubt, this car will have plenty of attention in the forthcoming years. Usually this car doest cost less than 1 million dollars on auctions nowadays.
Motor Trend Classic named the Enzo as number four in their list of the ten "Greatest Ferraris of all time".
