Ferrari SF90 Stradale (phev) Reviews

Hidden beneath the billowing black blankets is the upcoming replacement for the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.It is caught by Carparazzi on a road close to Ferrari's home base at Maranello in Italy and it doesn't take much imagination to strip away the disguise of a car that is expected to be officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next month.Carparazzi reports the bodywork will have a frontal design very close to the latest 458 speedster, a four-tailpipe exhaust system and a prominent rear hatchback to make the 612 more practical than the mid- engined members of the Ferrari family.The 612 successor is expected to have an advanced all-wheel drive system, seven-speed double-clutch transmission and a 6.3-litre V12 engine making 500 kiloWatts. The package is promising a 0-100km/h launch in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 335km/h.

The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe was bought by the Beatle in 1965 and is expected to sell for between 120,000 euros ($A156,188) and  170,000 euros ($A221,267). Lennon's biographer, Philip Norman, described how car dealers descended on the singer's home when the news emerged that he had passed his test and offered him a "gleaming smorgasbord" of luxury cars. But it was the Ferrari that caught his eye, with Lennon paying STG2,000 for the car, It was soon joined by his trademark Rolls-Royce, complete with psychedelic paintwork, and a Mini. The car will be sold by auction house Bonhams at a sale in Paris on February 5.

"The 458 Italia is an extraordinary Ferrari," says Car editor Phil McNamara. "That one of the fastest, most thrilling and communicative supercars of all time is also one of the easiest to drive day in, day out is a remarkable achievement. "Next year's new McLaren supercar will have to be extraordinarily talented to dislodge the Italia." Car magazine's "Performance Car of the Year" test took place over more than 4000km in Europe earlier this year, with competitors from eight different brands. The 458's Car gong follows a chestful of COTY medals including those of Fifth Gear, BBC Top Gear Magazine and Auto Express. The Ferrari 458 Italia was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009 and has since had journalists flailing for superlatives.

Usain Bolt is used to spending his days at a track, but for once he is not the fastest thing there. The current 100m and 200m world-record holder spent some time at Ferrari's Fiorano test track in Maranello, Italy, as both passenger and driver of the 599 GTB Fiorano and 458 Italia.Ferrari test drivers Dario Benuzzi and Raffaele De Simone took the wheel first, before handing the keys to Bolt for some laps and lessons on car control."It’s a little bit like me, very reactive and determined!" Usain Bolt says, having stepped out of the 458 Italia. “I was really scared, but it was a good scare. I’m excited like a child.” he says.Usain Bolt is not new to driving fast cars. Major sponsor Puma provided Bolt with a new BMW M3 Coupe, which he crashed in April 2009 when driving on a wet highway. The crash rolled the BMW several times, but Bolt escaped with only minor injuries.

Then the Sheikh - the last of the original magnificent seven who created the UAE - died and all the music stopped.  The beer ran out, Ferrari World didn't open, the parties were cancelled and a sombreness closed in as depressing as the dust storms that swirl Dubai's heaven-reaching buildings. Later that day, at a post-launch dinner, two tables were empty.  The Chinese journalists, I was told, were shopping. "Really?"  "No, not really," came the response.  "They're in gaol." Welcome to Dubai. A city or a kingdom or a country or a shopping mecca. You decide. Dubai can be a lot of things to a lot of people but it comes with silent warning tags.  It reminds me of the US. Complex and brash, excesses of poverty and wealth all topped by a thick coating of hypocrisy. You don't show affection when walking with your wife/partner/girlfriend in Dubai. You don't show emotion of any kind, really, except to recognise you are in another person's country and you do as they do. Wear what they wear, drive like they drive. When it comes to the car, they drive pretty much like what we drive. There's a lot of Altona-built Camrys and Elizabeth-sourced Commodores.They're not big on luxury Europeans. In 300-plus kilometres, I counted four Audis, about the same number of BMWs though there were a few more Mercedes. And four motorcycles. Commodores with Chevrolet badges were relatively common, though Hyundais were dominant. The deserts crowd the city but SUVs are few and the only 4WD of note was the Toyota FJ which we get in March. They drive on the other side of the road and tend to disregard speed limits, though just recently the police - who, you will learn, are not to be argued with - were issued with hand-held cameras and the revenue is soaring, according to a taxi driver on the windswept trip to the hotel from the airport. On the road test in Kia's promising Optima, the bitumen through the sand was impressive in quality. You can build up a bit of speed out here, too, but the car moves around a bit when the winds whip the flanks and the steering gets uncomfortably light. Caution, too, for the camels. Australians may be practised at screening the rural horizon for kangaroos and this augurs well for a blast across the sands towards Abu Dhabi. Camels are the same colour as kangaroos are the same colour as the sand, so can easily become invisible save for the fact they prefer to walk on the road. Where you are. At 120km/h or more. It's all good for the heart.  Wadis (oases) come and go in a blink of palm leaves and the road finds interest as it climbs towards Hatta through rich red rocky earth piles that show no vegetation. Further, at Kalba, the road skims the edge of the Gulf of Oman with its flat, pale water and distant oil rigs.  The car is very comfortable, notably quiet and the features and fittings reflect a thoughtful and careful methodology. It should do well, even though the car wasn't exactly the one bound for Australia in January. On the return to Dubai, a coffee stop filled us with sticky buns and Nescafe from a jar at a wadi with beige buildings and beige dust interrupted only by a few green palm trees and a black bitumen highway. I expect Dubai's 850m-odd high Burj Khalifa to become the lighthouse to guide me back to the hotel but it's clouded by dust.  It is an uninspiring return, repeating the almost full stops over countless speed humps - yes, on the freeway - and the tedium of dozens upon dozens of roundabouts. At dinner, with Kia bosses, talk moved from the death of Sheikh Saqr to the postponement that day of the Ferrari World opening to new cars to free trade to Chinese journalists.  "Why are they in gaol?" "They were arrested after photographing the police station. You are not allowed to photograph public buildings in Dubai. The Chinese were photographing everything." "Are they still there?" "I don't know."

But don't think about buying one. Only 80 cars are being built and the SA Aperta is already a sellout to customers with have been waiting as long as two years to see their new car for the first time. For once, because the car is only being built in right-hand drive, none of the newest Ferrari model is coming to Australia. The Aperta, which takes its name from the Italian word for open, is a celebration of the 80th anniversary of Ferrari's long-term design partnership with Pininfarina in Italy. The SA tag comes as a salute to Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina. It is the first V12-powered Ferrari convertible in five years, although the Italian brand is doing huge business now with the V8- engined, soft-focus California droptop. "The last time there was a V12 convertible was the Superamerica in 2005," says Edward Rowe, spokesman for Ferrari in Australia. But the SA Aperta is not the only Ferrari hero in Paris this week, as the California is going hybrid. There are no details yet but it will be something special from the Italian brand. It's the same with the SA Aperta, even if the car is silly expensive - more than $600,000 - and a sellout. Ferrari says it proves you can have a convertible that is as rigid as a sedan, and without any major weight penalty. Just as importantly, Ferrari promises that each of the 80 buyers will be able to make their car unique with a nearly-endless combination of colours and trims. But there is one shortcoming - the SA Aperta is not a new-age hardtop with a folding metal roof. Unlike the California, which has a clamshell top, the open-air 599 has an old-school folding fabric roof. But Ferrari even has an excuse - call it a reason - for the roof choice. "It has just a light soft top designed to be resorted to only if the weather gets particularly bad," it says. Pininfarina, first the designer Sergio and then his company with the same name, has been responsible for Ferrari bodywork since the 212 Inter of 1952. Among the more memorable Pininfarina designs for Ferrari are the 250 GT SWB of 1959, the 365 GTB/4 Daytona of 1968, the Dino 246 GT of 1968, the F40 of 1984, the F50 of 1995 and the one-off P4/5 of 2006. It is also responsible for the latest 458 Italia, which comes after the F355, 360 Modena and F430 line.

... in taking the wraps off a driving simulator that taps into their track work with the latest Ferrari F10, opening the experience to online gamers around the world.  High-definition graphics and high-speed response allows the creation of a virtual car on a virtual track, right down to the sort of cornering G-forces experienced by the racers. The Ferrari Virtual Academy is based on the Italian company's in-house test track at Fiorano, although the Mugello and Nurburgring racecourses will soon be added to the action.  "Do you have the guts to challenge me on the track at Fiorano," Alonso asks in Ferrari's official promotion for the simulator. Ferrari says it took 15 experts more than 12,000 hours to creation the simulation, which uses 3D graphics and data processing for the first time on a PC simulation.  The key to the experience is a virtual cockpit and steering wheel which tap into authentic data from the car, including its aerodynamic effects, tyre characteristics and behaviour of the chassis-suspension system, engine and transmission.  Alonso, Massa and Ferrari's F1 test driver Giancarlo Fisichella were all involved in testing of the simulator to ensure a realistic performance. Ferrari says the computer modelling of the car is matched to laser scanning of the real F10 at Fiorano, calibrating the simulator to the actual corners at Fiorano. Drivers on the Ferrari Virtual Academy can record their own time online, as well as taking part in an international tournament for weekly rewards from the Ferrari merchandise catalogue. But, wait, there is more. The five fastest drivers at the end of the tournament will win a trip to Ferrari in Italy and will be rewarded with a place at the Ferrari Driver Academy course.  The simulator costs 14.90 Euro and can be purchased online from the site www.ferrarivirtualacademy.com

The Italian carmaker issued the recall on more than 1200 of the cars, which sell in Australia for $526,950.  The recall cites a design fault in the rear wheel arch as being the cause of the fires, traced to the glue that secures the wheel arch to the car’s chassis being prone to melting in hot weather or when the car has had extended use. The melted glue allows the lining of the wheel arch to come into contact with the exhaust pipe, which carries enough heat to ignite the glue and the lining – with the resulting fire strong enough to melt the aluminium body. Five 458 Italias have so far reported to have been gutted by flames as a result.  Eight cars already been delivered to Australian buyers, and importer Ateco Automotive says all eight owners were contacted first thing this morning. “They were informed of the situation and arrangements were made for the cars to come back to the dealerships and have the necessary work done,” Ateco spokesman Edward Rowe says. “Essentially, we’re replacing part of wheel arch assembly and heat shield alongside. This is being replaced with a unit attached entirely with metal fasteners and the adhesive that was used has been eliminated.” Rowe says that recalls are rare for Ferrari but not unknown.  “We have less than many manufacturers, but this is not unique… there have been a couple of recalls for previous models. Every manufacturer has issues with their vehicles, none of them has zero recalls. “The measure is how you respond to that issue and how you look after the customer … with a level of service that matches the quality of the vehicle.”

When competitors spend hundreds of thousands of dollars turning a car into a work of art they want the world to know what they've done.  Take Mohamed Ibrahim, the owner of a Sydney custom paint and panel shop.He owns three Ferraris, has had about 10 over the years, and his job is to create great-looking wild machines for a host of customers.  His latest Ferrari fleet includes a red 2002 360 Modena, a white 2004 360 Spyder convertible and a yellow 355.And there's his gold car, a BMW.  "Tell them Mohamed Ibrahim, Queen St Smash Repairs, is coming to MotorEx this year to kick some arse."  Ibrahim says he has spent about $200,000 on gold plating the German supercar. Every nut and bolt is gold. The exterior is black.He estimates it will be worth close to $1million when it is unveiled at next weekend's MotorEx custom, modified and collectable car show at the Sydney Showgrounds.  It's the 10th anniversary of the show that proudly promotes chrome, polish, extravagance and wild machinery and everyone's putting in a big effort to make it the best ever.And Ibrahim is certainly playing his part with about 10 cars modified by his shop to go on show. He says the gold-plated car is aimed at making a statement for Australia in the showcar world where in the US, Asian and the Middle East showcars now come encrusted in crystals and diamantes.Ibrahim bought his red 360 Modena F1 Ferrari two years ago in stock condition.  The 3.6-litre V8 2-door coupe was capable of firing from standing still to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds in stock form though it drank fuel at the rate of 13.6L/100km according to the official statistics.He says it underwent a three month makeover where he added 22-inch wheels, upgraded the engine and exhaust and re-did the interior.  Now it's such a head-turner that he says he watched stunned recently when a driver in another car was taking such a good look at the machine, he didn't apply his brakes and crashed into another car in front of him.The red (it's actually called brandy wine) Modena now spends most of its life earning its keep as a wedding car for people to hire.  Ibrahim says while he enjoys many brands of cars Ferraris have a special feel for him."I've always loved them from when I was a little kid," he says.  The Modena will appear at MotorEx in a new category known as Street Elite, for the best cars that can be driven on the street.Meguiar's MotorEx managing director Bruce Morrison says: "The emergence of elite levels of body, paint, engine bay, interiors, plus the use of innovation, special effect finishing, clever engineering and drivability fit into more of a Street Elite category."Driving this new category are the people still prepared to spend what it takes to build their dream car and show it to the world, but also want to drive it."Apart from wild show cars, this year's MotorEx will also feature displays of muscle cars, custom motorcycles and luxury supercars.  The ShowTime freestyle motocrossers will also perform their array of aerial craziness.On Sunday week Shannons will have a custom and collectable auction featuring about 40 vehicles as part of the show.  The stars include an original Holden Torana A9X hatchback.  Shannons says it was the first homologation special built in 1977.It says: "It was initially one of two GM-H press and promotional vehicles before being acquired by leading Sydney Holden dealer and racing driver Ron Hodgson and has covered just 16,000km since new in the hands of a series of careful collector/owners."  The Torana is expected to fetch up to $290,000. Also up for bidding is an ex-Dick Johnson racing 1983 Mustang GT.  Johnson imported two cars for the 1985 Australian touring car season and raced them with limited success until he replaced them with the giant-killing turbocharged Cosworth Sierras in which he eventually won the Bathurst 1000 in 1989. The auctioneers say the car should fetch up to $220,000.

The first of Ferrari's latest mid-engined supercars is ready for the road in Australia, complete with a pricetag of $526,950 and a waiting list which already stretches for 15 months. The pioneer car is not heading for a customer's garage - not yet, anyway - but is doing demonstration work for Ferrari as the brand gears up for a total change in its local portfolio. The V8-powered California coupe-convertible is already going well and winning a record number of women to the brand, but Ferrari says the 458 sets the pace for the brand in everything from its design and engine development - including a sump which operates within a vacuum - to a steering wheel which houses switches for the turn signals, lights and wipers. It has active aerodynamic devices, diamond-like coating on the cylinder bores and fully-integrated electronics to make the car easier and safer to drive despite a 300-plus top speed and 0-100km/h sprint time better than four seconds. "It's a window on the future of technology that will be available across a much wider range of vehicles in the future," says Ferrari's local spokesman, Edward Rowe. All the early 458 deliveries in Australia will be made to long-term Ferrari fans, most adding an extra car to their garage after paying a deposit as much as three years ago. All but a handful are going to men and all have a manu-matic seven-speed gearbox, after demand on the outgoing 430 dropped to almost zero in Australia. "Around 90 per cent are existing Ferrari owners. For about 40 per cent of those people the car will be an addition, not a replacement for an existing car," Rowe says. Ferrari is reluctant to talk about exact pricing for the 458, because of differences in optional equipment and government charges, but Brisbane dealer boss Greg Willims (correct) says most will hit the road at between $580,000 and $590,000. Enamel badges on the front mudguards alone cost $3000. The bottom line is a significant jump from the $460,000 range for the 430, but Ferrari justifies the increase with everything from the car's new technology to improved quality. Around 60 458s will be delivered in the car's first year in Australia as Ferrari aims for just over 100 sales, based on allocations from Italy and not local demand. "Whatever the factory can build, that's what we sell. If a customer was to place an order today the delivery would be later next year," Rowe says. "We don't know what the final allocations for 2011 will be. We prefer to err on the conservative side, because it's better for a customer to get their car earlier than expected." The 458 demonstrator is a classic Ferrari, with red bodywork and tan leather trim, but picks up painted yellow calipers on its carbon brakes, side shields, larger alloy wheels, electric seats and upgraded headlamps.