Ferrari News

The first official images of the highly anticipated successor for the Ferrari Enzo - codename F150 - have popped up in the Italian sports car maker’s in house magazine. The pictures show the nose of the car and feature swept-back headlights and an attractive sculpted bonnet. The Enzo replacement is rumoured to use a 7.3-litre V12 together with an F1 style KERS electric motor to develop in excess of 590 kW of power. That’s significantly more than the legendary original Enzo which produced 478 kW. That sort of power combined with significant weight savings - which Ferrari has already foreshadowed at The Paris Motor Show with their carbon fibre chassis – is guaranteed to result in exhilarating performance. The new Ferrari is tipped to have relentless acceleration and a 0-100km/h time of less than 3 seconds. There’s also talk of a double clutch gearbox and ceramic brakes as standard but that’s to be expected for such a flamboyant supercar. When this top of the range Italian stallion goes on sale sometime in late 2013 it is unlikely to retain the F150 codename given the 2011 legal stoush with Ford over the name. It seems The Blue Oval were upset about alleged misappropriating of the famous Ford F-150 pickup name when Ferrari tried to name their 2011 F1 car F150. As a result the successor to the Enzo is rumoured to be wearing a F70 badge.                    

Authorities are expected to move to strip the tennis ace of his driver's licence. A Queensland Transport paperwork bungle mistakenly issued the tennis ace with his open licence -- despite his driving history. Tomic racked up nine demerit points during a series of public run-ins with Gold Coast police, but because the 20-year-old contested the fines, the points were not processed until the court action was finalised months later. The transport loophole allowed Tomic to be issued with his open licence before the fines -- and the demerit points -- were processed. However, Queensland Transport is finally reviewing Tomic's history and the troubled tennis star is expected to be stripped of his licence. Read the full story here.  

The new F12 Berlinetta unveiled in Sydney today might cost almost $700,000 but it’s actually a bargain. The fastest and most powerful Ferrari road car ever made is $200,000 cheaper than the previous pinnacle of the Italian sports-car range, the 599 GTO. The latest Ferrari - air-freighted into Australia overnight ahead of customer previews in Sydney and Melbourne before it jets off to China - has more power than a V8 Supercar. It can reach 100km/h in 3.1 seconds - the same time it takes most cars to reach 40km/h. The previous champion Ferrari, the 599 GTO, reached the speed limit in a comparatively tardy 3.35 seconds. The new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is going fast in more ways than one; it’s sold for 18 months even though supercar sales are on struggle street at the moment. "Our market segment has dropped between 16 and 20 per cent,” says Ferrari Australia general manager Kevin Wall. "Suffice to say the downturn is significant, it’s enough to hurt.” But Ferrari isn't hurting too much. "We will deliver between 100 and 115 cars this year … and have just delivered our 1000th Ferrari in Australia in seven years," says Wall, citing the number of sales since European Automotive Importers took over the distribution of Ferrari cars locally in October 2005. By comparison, it took more than 40 years to sell the first 1000 Ferraris in Australia. Just 2200 Ferraris have been imported into Australia since 1952 – this year is the brand’s 60th anniversary locally. The first Ferrari sold here was a "canary" yellow ‘212 Export’ coupe, and it is still in the country – in pristine condition. Ferrari Australia is hosting potential buyers of the new F12 Berlinetta to VIP previews in Sydney and Melbourne this week, including flying some guests over from mining rich West Australia. If Ferrari Australia reaches its forecast of 115 sales for the year, that will be down from 134 deliveries in 2011 and 126 in 2010. The F12 Berlinetta is not the cheapest new car to wear a Ferrari badge; that title goes to a special "Ferrari" edition of the Fiat 500, which costs $69,990, roughly twice the price of the regular model. Fast facts: Ferrari F12 Berlinetta Price: $691,000 (plus on-road costs) On sale: June 2013 Engine: 6.3-litre V12 (6262cc) Power: 545kW at 8250rpm Torque: 690Nm at 6000rpm Redline: 8700rpm Gearbox: Seven-speed twin-clutch auto 0 to 100km/h: 3.1 sec 0 to 200 km/h: 8.5 sec Weight: 1630kg (46:54 front:rear) Consumption: 15L/100km (350g/km)  

The newly elected deputy mayor and property developer has been ordered to spend a year off the road as punishment for spinning his Ferrari out of control, forcing two women into hospital from their injuries.Salim Mehajer, 26, will also perform 150 hours of community service after Magistrate Brian Maloney found him guilty of negligent driving in the January incident.The Auburn councillor has been spared having to pay a hefty fine.Read full story here. 

In July of this year, one of the greatest designers of all time, the legendary Sergio Pininfarina, son of Pininfarina founder Battista Farina, passed away at age 85. During his lifetime, he penned some of most famed cars ever to see the light of the day, many of which were designed for Ferrari. In honour of his contribution to Ferrari, the Italian sports car manufacturer will be hosting an exhibition at its official museum in Maranello, Italy. The new exhibition, titled Le grandi Ferrari di Sergio Pininfarina (Sergio Pininfarina’s great Ferraris), will provide visitors with the chance to get to know the most beautiful Ferraris designed by Pininfarina over 60 years in collaboration with the Prancing Horse. The collection of cars will be housed in three different halls, one each for race cars, concepts and production cars. In the race car hall, some of the highlights will include a Le Mans winning 250 LM, the 250 SWB Stirling Moss drove to win the Touring Trophy, and the experimental Formula 1 Sigma, suggested by Pininfarina in the 1960s.  Moving onto the concept hall, visitors will find cars like the Modulo, the P6 and the extraordinary four-door Pinin. Finally, in the production car hall, visitors will be greeted with a collection of front-engined Berlinettas, the BB prototype, and several other notable models.  Additionally, there will also be a huge mural with all Ferraris ever created by Pininfarina from 1952 until today, including some undisclosed material from the Pininfarina family’s personal collection!  Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, Piero Ferrari and the Pininfarina family will be present at the opening ceremony of the new exhibition from October 27, 2012, to January 7, 2013. www.motorauthority.com  

...at the UK’s Silverstone circuit.

But for those readers who can’t wait any longer, and that probably means you, these computer-generated renderings provide a clue as to how the new Ferrari flagship will look. Based on prototypes spotted in the wild, as well as insider information, the renderings allow us to look past the heavy camouflage and see the stunning beast that’s residing within. They show a mid-engine exotic that’s immediately recognisable as a modern Ferrari, though one that’s significantly wilder than anything that’s yet to leave the halls of the Maranello factory. They show that the new F70 will benefit from an advanced aerodynamics package, which is likely to include active flaps in the front bumper, like on the F12 Berlinetta, as well as additional flaps and new intakes in the rear section. In charge of the styling is Italian designer Flavio Manzoni, who is said to be planning a three-curve profile (one curve for the front fender, one sweeping curve for the roof and one final curve for the rear fender) and extensive glass area for the car. The overall proportions appear similar to those of the Enzo, though the prototypes we’ve seen suggest the F70 could in fact be both longer and wider. The extra length is necessary to accommodate the F70’s new hybrid drivetrain, which is called HY-KERS and based on technology derived from Ferrari’s Formula 1 racing efforts.  The particular setup in the F70 will consist of a high-displacement V-12 engine matched to a dual-clutch transmission and electric motor driving the rear axle. A second electric motor will be used to power ancillary features, thus reducing the load on the engine. A kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) will ensure the car’s lithium-ion batteries, which are being supplied by Samsung, stay charged. The system’s combined output could be as high as 920 horsepower, while emissions will be around 40 percent lower compared to a non-hybrid solution, Ferrari has confirmed. Additionally, Ferrari is going all carbon for the F70’s platform, utilising some of the most advanced composites for everything from the central monocoque structure to the individual body panels. The end result is an expected curb weight as low 1133kg -- a phenomenally light number with 920 horsepower on tap. The marginally more powerful Bugatti Veyron, for example, weighs about 680kg more than the 1133kg target. Even McLaren's carbon monocoque MP4-12C--rated at “just” 616 horsepower--weighs a portly 500 pounds or so more. The F1 tech doesn’t end there, however. Technological transfer from racing is also fundamental to the design, engineering and construction of the F70, specifically, its ability to optimise longitudinal and lateral dynamic characteristics, and thus improve handling. This will be achieved via torque management, traction control and brake distribution. Next year is shaping up to be huge for supercar fans, as well as fans of advanced powertrain technology. Not only will we see the launch of the hybrid Ferrari, but arch rival McLaren is planning to launch its successor to the legendary F1, and it's tipped to also feature a hybrid system. On top of this, the Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid is set to go on sale, as is the production version of Jaguar’s stunning C-X75 concept. Motor Authority

He was driving the Ferrari in Moscow, Russia, when he allegedly lost control and careened into a roadside pole. The fact that the force of the impact managed to tear his Ferrari in two strongly suggests that speed was a factor. The car’s V-12 engine and front section remained stuck to the pole while the rest of the body was slung to the side.  Despite the severity of the crash, which caused the airbags to deploy and rendered the car a write-off, the driver and three passengers he was carrying at the time escaped unscathed. Motor Authority