The time has come when Australia and our Kiwi cousins begin seeing the Ferrari FF on the roads as the first delivers start. While the Ferrari FF does everything expected of a Ferrari and then some, true supercar performance, exceptional handling and road holding and a sound like no mere mortal car, the spacious interior of the Ferrari FF, with room for four people and up to 800 litres of luggage space will enable Ferrari owners to travel on holidays and weekends away in their new supercar. Equally, the unique four wheel drive system fitted to the Ferrari FF means that dirt, snow and ice, let alone wet roads hold no fear for the Ferrari FF owner, maybe just the paint job. This means that the Ferrari FF is more than capable of taking four people and luggage for a long weekend or a couple for a long holiday than ever before. The destination may be a snow-bound lodge in the Snowy Mountains or Queenstown or a beach house or vineyard at the end of dirt road, either way, the Ferrari FF will complete the journey with supercar performance and with comfort. Equally the Ferrari FF enables owners to follow activities and hobbies with their Ferrari, with the spacious boot able to take two complete golf club sets with ease or a complete scuba outfit, or even a mountain bike, skis or a small surfboard. And, of course, the four wheel drive system will enable easier access to the places where those activities take place. The flexibility of the Ferrari FF also means it is just of capable meeting the demands of family life. “The Ferrari FF is, quite simply, the most useable and versatile supercar built by Ferrari,” says Kevin Wall, General Manager of European Automotive Imports, the official Ferrari importer in Australia and New Zealand. “The Ferrari FF will enable owners to enjoy their supercars in places and under conditions previously unthinkable for cars that offer the performance provided by the Ferrari FF.” The Ferrari FF is a four-seater that utterly changes the whole GT sports car concept, hailing nothing short of a revolution in the auto world. Even the most cursory glance at the FF’s sleek, Pininfarina-penned super model profile will tell you that. The Australian recommended retail price of the Ferrari FF is $625,000 excluding statutory charges, delivery and dealer costs. This represents a saving of $73,000 before statutory charges, delivery and dealer costs compared to the out-going Ferrari 612. For New Zealand customers, the Ferrari FF is priced at $635,000 excluding, delivery and dealer costs, again a reduction compared to the Ferrari 612, in this case a figure of $35,000. The FF will more than match anything that’s asked of it because it is quite simply the most versatile car ever produced by the pens, computers, monkey wrenches and milling machines of the Prancing Horse technicians, engineers, designers and mechanics. The FF also sets a new benchmark in terms of sheer innovation: it is the first four-wheel drive V12 with a rear-mounted electronic differential, the E-Diff. The Ferrari-patented four-wheel drive system is unique and also integrated with the new generation F1-Trac traction control developed specifically for the track. The FF is also the first and only V12 in the world to sport the seven-speed dual-clutch F1 gearbox with 20% more power output and 25% lower fuel consumption. It offers four occupants superb in-car comfort with wraparound seats and unprecedented cabin and luggage space for a car in its category. The FF’s architecture too ticks all the boxes with authentic sports car driving dynamics, braking and suspension. It also boasts the best weight-power ratio ever achieved, thanks in part to the fact that its patented four-wheel drive system is just 50% the weight of a traditional version. Style-wise, the FF is sculptural yet streamlined: it has an innovative shooting brake shape, modern styling cues, and third millennium aerodynamic and conceptual solutions to underscore its sporty stance. It is also unique on several levels: for instance, the paints used for its livery were specifically designed for it and the leathers that adorn its interiors have been given an innovative treatment to enhance their natural beauty. The FF is tailored to perfection to suit the exclusive style of its owner. It’s as much a car for day-to-day driving as it is for extraordinarily unique occasions.

In the lead up to next month’s Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour Race (24-26 February 2012), John Bowe has taken to the wheel at Phillip Island for the first time of the Il Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 GT3 he will campaign in the 12 hour endurance race and has come away amazed at the car’s performance. “It’s impressive, I don’t know how else to put it, it’s great to drive, with massive amount of grip, comfortable and has unquestionable performance, a very well thought out race car, much more so than most,” he said after driving the Ferrari 458 GT3. The second test for the Michelotto prepared Ferrari 458 GT3 after it smashed the Bathurst lap record in December saw Bowe take it to the limits on the southern circuit, cementing confidence that the latest Maranello race acquisition is ready for the world stage. “The 458 has a much nicer gear change than the previous Ferrari, a nicer brake feel, and it’s got a lot more gizmos to work around, and so far I’ve only done a very limited amount which lends to a lot more to come,” explained Bowe. “I’ve done lots of miles in these sorts of cars, but not for a while, so what with a lot more grip than most cars because of the aerodynamics, you need to believe in the fact that it’s actually going to go around the corners and pull up when all of your senses are saying that it won’t.” “There are always some areas that I think we can improve on in terms of stability, but nothing drastic because overall it’s an amazingly well prepared car which I’m definitely looking forward to driving at Bathurst.” Completing some 20 laps of the 4.4km circuit, Bowe used the sessions to get in tune with the Il Bello Rosso Ferrari GT3 and build his own confidence in its capabilities, some of which are well beyond his initial hopes.      

The Ferrari FF has proven it’s not just the ideal transport to the ski slopes, in hands of Ferrari Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, the four wheel drive Ferrari can also take to the ski slopes themselves. The two drivers were attending the annual pre-season alpine Ferrari Formula One team get together when they cleared the skiers off the Madonna di Campiglio slalom course for a highly unusual high performance driving course. The event also answered another previously unposed question – how do you get a 660 bhp V12 supercar capable of carrying four people and their luggage to the top of the a ski slope? Simple. You drive it up the ski slope, with the Ferrari FF’s sophisticated all wheel drive system just as capable of going safely up ski slopes as down them! So how did the race finish? In a dead head, of course, and both drivers were impressed by the new way of staying warm, comfortable and in total control on the ski slopes. “It’s incredible how easy it is to drive the FF even on a such a demanding surface and at the same time, how high a performance level you can reach in it,” said Alonso. Massa was of a similar opinion: “the most incredible thing about the car is the fact there is no need to compromise maximum performance and usability, whatever the driving environment,” reckoned the Brazilian. “And on top of that, it’s perfect for everyday use with the whole family in the car.” So there you have it. There is only one supercar that is able to get you and family to the ski slopes, to the top of the ski slopes and back down again – the Ferrari FF.

An all-new 18 million Euro museum built around the birth place of Enzo Ferrari and his first workshop from where he launched what would become one of the car industry’s most legendary names and the most successful team in Formula One will open in his home town, the Italian city of Modena, on 10 March 2012. In addition, starting on Enzo Ferrari’s birthday, the 18 February, Modena will hold a series of events to celebrate Enzo Ferrari, his cars and his motorsport success. “It is with great satisfaction and enthusiasm that, after years of intense work by the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari, we are on the point of inaugurating this important cultural asset, that will tell the world the story of this great figure and the vocation for motoring of this area”, says Mauro Tedeschini, President of the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari. The museum complex started from the restoration of the house in which Enzo Ferrrari was born in Modena in 1898, and that has preserved through the years both the living quarters and the workshop. To this has been added a new building in the form of the now famous yellow aluminium “bonnet” whose colour is the symbol of the city of Modena and the colour chosen by Enzo Ferrari as the background to the Prancing Horse, the trademark of the company that bears his name. “The Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari represents the final addition to the tourist attractions in this area related to motoring” explains  Adriana Zini, General Secretary of the Fondazione – and will become a cult place for motoring enthusiasts and a major destination for cultural and industrial tourism. For the city of Modena it will be an international icon. Together with the Galleria Ferrari Museum at Maranello, with which it will operate in synergy, and with other important motoring assets in the area such as the Marzaglia motor racing circuit and the Righini, Panini e Stanguellini Collections, it will fully meet the expectations of visitors from all over the world to what has become known as ‘Supercar Valley’.” The curtain will rise on an exhibition dedicated to the story of Enzo Ferrari the man, the driver and the constructor, placed in the context of the the era which saw him as an undisputed star: motor sport, with its cast of actors, its places, the competitions that characterised the events of his life: from the street circuit of Modena to the motor racing circuit to the Mille Miglia; from Scaglietti, Fantuzzi, Stanguellini to Maserati, Pagani, De Tomaso, Lamborghini as well as Alfa Romeo. In his birthplace there is a permanent multimedia display which retraces the most important events in Ferrari’s life, a “mover of men”, who believed that “if you can dream it you can do it”, who saw the car as a work of art and considered racing as an experimental and testing ground for the continuous development and improvement of technology and the reaching of perfection.   Passion and creativity, research, innovation, courage and challenges; these are the key words that emerge from the life of Enzo Ferrari and that are at the root of the Myth who made Modena and Maranello capitals of a dream come true. The stars of the exhibition in the new gallery will, on the other hand, be the cars themselves; representatives of the great Italian names from the most prestigious collections and museums, exhibited as works of arts. The vehicles will be surrounded by showcases containing historic documents, objects and memorabilia, with the contribution of original audio-visual footage that reconstructs the identity of Motor Valley of Emilia Romagna, that with time acquired international importance. The Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari is also a prestigious work of contemporary architecture that carries the signature of Future Systems of London, formerly headed by the great architect Jan Kaplicky, who died in 2009. The interior design and museum layout were under the supervision of architect Andrea Morgante of Shiro Studio, co-designer of the project. Engineering, project management and works management were provided by the Politecnica company. The museum is situated close to the historic city centre of Modena and the Maserati plant, in the area outside the city walls that was the first in Modena to be developed and where, close to the railway, the first large industrial complexes, now disused, were built. The area is now being transformed, with the birth of a new quarter with homes, offices, shops and restaurants. The museum covers a total floor space of 5000 sq. m. including a teaching room with a digital archive centre, a conference – room, a projection room, shop and a coffee shop. The exhibition space is set up therefore not only as an elegant space in which to display dream cars, but as a unique and prestigious venue in which conventions, presentations and cultural events can be organised. The museum will be open 363 days a year, and, thanks to its flexible and modular set up, will host temporary exhibitions in the new gallery that intertwine the theme of motoring with those of art, music, science and technology. The museum will be directed by the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari, which will oversee cultural policy, exhibition organisation,  the educational programme, the documentation centre and archive organisation, communication and marketing. The work on the new complex has cost 18 million euros. The founding bodies and sponsors of the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari  are Modena City Council, the Provincial Administration of Modena, Modena Chamber of Commerce, Ferrari S.p.A. and the Italian Automobile Club (ACI).