Car Automotive and Design

Showing posts with label Ferrari. Show all posts

Extinct Species: Remembering Five Former Italian Car Makers

Two weeks ago, while wandering around the brand new Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, I came across a particular brand of automobile that is a rarity to find. Located in the lower half of the Jan Kaplický designed building’s modern showroom was a 1961 Stanguellini Junior.

As I studied the contours of its red bodywork, I couldn’t help but think about all of the once great Italian names that have faded into a distant memory.

In the spirit of the Enzo Ferrari Museum, which aims to educate visitors about Modena’s rich racing heritage, I decided to take a moment to write about some of the many Italian automobile brands that are now a part of the past.

Movado to Design and Produce New Ferrari and Scuderia Ferrari Watch Collections

Like most carmakers, Ferrari doesn't produce the merchandise it offers through its official stores. Instead, it cooperates with numerous manufactures that specialize on designing and manufacturing these products.

Today, the Italian sports car maker announced that it has signed a multi-year, worldwide license agreement with the Movado Group for the design, production and marketing of a new collection of watches under the Ferrari and Scuderia Ferrari brand names.

The Italian company said that the collection of Ferrari fan watches will be priced up to €1,500 euros (close to US$2,000 or about GBP 1,250) and will be sold worldwide through select wholesale distribution outlets as well as Ferrari's stores and the Ferrari online shop.

Formula 1: 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results

As the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Likewise, you can’t predict the outcome of a race until the chequered flag drops.

Judging both from the first grand prix of the year, as well as Saturday’s qualifying practice at Sepang, the prime contenders for the top spot were the two McLarens, followed by Michal Schumacher in his Mercedes and, perhaps, Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus.

Of course, no one in his right mind would not count Red Bull Racing's duo – or bet a dime on Ferrari winning the race. Well, if anyone had that inspiration, he must have quite a lot of cash right now, because Fernando Alonso won the 2012 Malaysian Formula 1 grand prix.

Formula 1: Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Immediately after the 2012 season opener in Australia, the Formula 1 circus moved to Malaysia for the second race of the year.

In contrast to Albert Park, which uses public roads that are closed in order for the Grand Prix to take place and is a relatively easy track, the Sepang Circuit features an unusual layout, with a tight hairpin leading from the very long back straight to the pits.

In Australia, we got a first taste of each team’s pace during tge race. Apparently, the Malaysian GP qualifying session proved that the picture it painted was an accurate one.

Ferrari CEO Confirms V12 Hybrid, Says Six-Cylinder Engines are Also on the Table

A V12 engine is a rare sight indeed in the automotive world and if we had to pick one maker closely associated with it, then it would have to be Ferrari.

Even the very first model to bear the prancing horse logo, the 1947 125 S, was powered by a 1.5-liter V12 designed by Gioacchino Colombo and it would set the specs for Ferrari’s V12s until the end of the 1980s, long after its creator had left Maranello.

The thing is, even though Ferrari had stayed loyal to the V12 layout in its Formula 1 cars for more than five decades, in 1996, the F310 driven by new signing Michael Schumacher was powered by a V10 –simply because it was a better. Moreover, subsequent rule changes meant that today a V8 is mandatory.

Bespoke Ferrari SP12, Reportedly Owned by Eric Clapton, Filmed as it was Leaving London Showroom

Here's an update on our previous story on the one-of-a-kind Ferrari SP12 that was spotted at HR Owen showroom in London on Wednesday night.

YouTube user Shmee150, not only took some video footage from the presentation last night, but he was also able to hand the camera to someone inside the dealership today and film the car up close as it was leaving to be delivered to its new owner, who is rumored to be none other than Eric Clapton.

While we still don't have any official information on the car, Shmee150's inside man at HR Owen gave some details about the vehicle in the video description. Among other things, the insider says that the coachbuilt Ferrari is based on the 458 Italia and retains its V8 engine despite rumors about a V12.

One-Off Ferrari SP12 Based on the 458 Italia and Allegedly Powered by a V12

For the past 24 hours, the web has been abuzz with a one-off Ferrari model that reportedly made its debut last night in an enclosed glass structure at H.R. Owen, a London based dealer of high-end cars.

We don't have anything official on the right-hand drive Ferrari model. However, we see that it wears a license plate that reads SP12 (possibly for Special Program and V12) and that it is based on the 458 Italia with the coachbuilt body resembling the classic 12-cylinder Ferrari 512i BB from the late 1970s, early 1980s.

Foamed: Carnival Teens Attack Ferrari F430 Spider in Brazil

It’s always a good idea to stay far, far away from a crowd of frantic people, be you on foot or in your car. Even more so, if you're driving an exotic ride like a Ferrari F430 Spider.

This incident allegedly occurred in Brazil during a local (?) carnival. While driving on the street, the owner of the Prancing Horse supercar was suddenly surrounded by a mob of frantic kids and teens running around with foam sprays, which of course, they used on the Ferrari…

If you watch the clip until the end, you'll see a wiser driver of a white Porsche Panamera making a hasty U-turn to avoid the foamy fate of the F430 Spider. Video follows right after the break.

Florida Garage is a True Car Lover's Paradise

It’s probably happened to you at some point: for whatever reason, you fail to recall where you parked your car in the garage and you are going around in circles trying to find it.

In any other case, that would be a huge nuisance but not at this particular garage located somewhere in Northeast Florida.

If you're wondering why, then all you have to do is follow the break to watch the video and the answer will quickly become clear…

Celebrating Sixty Years of Ferrari in Australia

This past Saturday in Melbourne, the host city for the 2012 season's inaugural Formula 1 race, Australian spectators were treated to not only a very unpredictable qualifying session but also a variety of other events that aimed to dazzle those who were present in Albert Park.

Highlights included an aerial display from the PC9 aerobatics team known as “The Roulettes” and the third Australian V8 Supercars race of the weekend. For Ferrari enthusiasts, the day’s most eagerly anticipated track action, aside from the Formula 1, was a parade honoring Ferrari’s sixtieth anniversary in Australia.

At noon, sixty models from Maranello, one for every year that Ferrari has been in Australia, drove their way around Albert Park. The procession was led by the Ferrari 458 Spider, which made its Australian debut and is predicted to retail at around AU$590,000 when it goes on sale later this year.

Amongst the cars featured were fan favorites such as the 360 Challenge, the Ferrari California and the F40. The country’s very first Ferrari, the Ferrari 212 Export Coupe, hit Australian shores in Melbourne all the way back in 1952 and since then, Australia grew to become Ferrari’s tenth most important market in 2011.

Formula 1: Australian GP Race Results

Every year FIA, the sport’s governing body, changes Formula 1’s technical regulations with the purpose of leveling out the playing field. This forces designers to work within a very strict set of parameters that make gaining an advantage a great challenge.

Despite FIA’s efforts to increase competition even more, F1 is far from becoming something akin to a one-make series. Some teams always make a better job than others do, but we have to wait until each year’s first race before drawing any conclusions.

At the 2012 Australian Grand Prix, the Saturday qualifying session showed us certain things like that the McLaren is currently the fastest car out there, while Red Bull Racing seems to have lost some of its pace due to the rule changes that affected the design of the RB8.

Formula 1: Australian GP Qualifying Results

At the inaugural race of every Formula 1 season you never really know where each team stands in terms of performance. Sure, there are the favorites, the also-runs, the back markers and oftentimes, the wild cards.

Well, the qualifying race of the Australian Grand Prix that kicked off this year's F1 season certainly had all of the above. But not necessarily in the way most seasoned F1 fans might have expected.

Lewis Hamilton claimed the 20th pole position of his career and Jenson Button lined up right beside him, making it an all-McLaren front row. Not too surprising, as despite the fact that Sebastian Vettel took most pole positions last year, the McLarens had proved to be very fast during testing.

2012 Ferrari 599XX Evolution Makes its Debut Run at Suzuka

The crew over at Japan's Car Nifty sent us this video of the new 2012 Ferrari 599XX Evolution performing its first runs on the track at Suzuka following the racing car's world premiere at the Bologna Motor Show last December.

The debut took place during the first event of the Ferrari Racing Days that groups together the races for the entrants in the Asia-Pacific series of the Ferrari Challenge Tofeo Pirelli and the track sessions for clients involved in the 599XX and F1 programmes.

Formula 1: Carscoop’s Preview of the 2012 Season

When the red lights go out at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday (17:00 local time, 06:00 GMT), it will not only mark the start of the 28th Australian Grand Prix but of the 2012 Formula 1 season as well.

It will also mark the first time in the 62-year history of the sport that six world champions line up on the same grid: Michael Schumacher (7 titles), Fernando Alonso (2 titles), Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen (1 title each) and, of course, the reigning champion, Sebastian Vettel, who also won the 2010 world title.

In Formula 1, things can change dramatically from one year to another. And FIA is certainly trying hard to make any advantage held by a single team evaporate: thus it made the standard ECUs even simpler, compelled all teams to use “periscope”-style exhausts eliminating their aerodynamic effect on the diffuser, made changes to the front wing’s minimal strength and height and outlawed ride-height suspension systems.

Despite all these changes, some of which were clearly aimed at Red Bull (and made most cars sport an ugly face), the 25-year old German and the all-conquering these past two seasons RBR team are starting out as the ones to beat.

Pretty Girls Pose Next to Gumball 3000 Ferrari 599 GTO

The 2012 edition of the wacky Gumball 3000 rally is almost upon us as the event, which will see contestants driving some 3,000 miles from New York City to Toronto and from there to Los Angeles in seven days, starts on May 25.

Among the many participants is Team Autogespot from Holland that will run in a rare Ferrari 599 GTO.

The limited edition Italian supercar, which is powered by a tweaked 6.0-liter V12 engine churning out 670-horses at 8,250 rpm and maximum torque of 620Nm (457 lb-ft) at 6,500 rpm, is dressed up in a rather awkward looking vinyl wrap with cart-postal-like automobile pictures.

Perhaps the lovely Dutch ladies posing next to it in the videos that follow after the break will succeed in deflecting your attention away from the wrap.

New Enzo Ferrari Museum Opens its Doors in Modena

One of the most prominent personalities in the automobile and racing car industry of the 20th century, the legendary Enzo Ferrari, finally has his own museum.

Built next to Enzo's birth town in Modena Italy, the new Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari is not affiliated with the brand itself that has its own established Museo Ferrari at Maranello.

The project cost some €18 million (US$23.6 million) and was mostly financed by local authorities that hope it will draw up to 200,000 visitors a year boosting the regional economy.

Boastful Ferrari 458 Driver in Trouble with the Police after YouTube Video

In yet another case of police using evidence from a YouTube video to warrant an arrest, a Japanese doctor from Japan has been caught and faces possible jail time after posting a clip of his drive in a Ferrari 458 Italia on the video-sharing website.

The 50-year old man placed a camera behind the driver's seat and recorded himself speeding along highways and coastal roads. The clip was filmed on the morning of April 24, 2011.

According to Japanese daily The Mainichi Daily News, in May, some angry YouTube users reported the video to the police who calculated that he was traveling at more than three times the 40km/h (25mph) speed limit at 124km/h (77mph).

Ferrari F12berlinetta Rendered as a Spider Model

The all-new Ferrari F12berlinetta was only just unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show a couple of days ago, but it's never too early to speculate on the future.

The Carscoop reader who we've come to know by the alias "Lil-k Amaru" has whipped up quick rendering of what a spider version of the new Ferrari supercar may look like if Maranello were to create such a version.

Being that 'berlinetta' literally means little saloon in Italian and is used for two-seater coupes, we imagine that the open-top variant could be named something like F12spider. A high-resolution version of the opening picture can be viewed after the jump.

Formula 1: Ferrari Technical Director "Disappointed" with New Car After Second Test

Scuderia Ferrari, the only team to be present in Formula 1 since its inaugural season in 1950, begins each year with the goal to win the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championship. Anything else, like last year’s third place behind Red Bull and McLaren, is considered a failure.

In the second official test of the year, which was held at Barcelona, Fernando Alonso posted the second fastest time at the end of the final day. This bodes well for the brand-new F2012 and the Scuderia’s chances of attaining its goals, right?

Well, the answer is “no”, at least according to the team’s technical director Pat Fry: “We are disappointed with the performance level seen at these tests and I think we have a lot of work ahead of us”, he said.

Ferrari F12berlinetta Photos and Videos from the Geneva Motor Show

Different Ferraris for different tastes: that was the objective set in Maranello four years ago. And with the world premiere of the F12berlinetta at the 82ndGeneva Motor Show, the people at Maranello believe that they have accomplished their goal having replaced every single model in the brand's range during said period.

Displayed in two new colors (Rosso Berlinetta and Aluminium), the V12-engined F12berlinetta is the most powerful as well as the fastest road model to ever roll out of the gates of Via Abertone Inferiore n.4.

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